The plot is motivated by a cruel wager between the beautiful
but debauched Marquise de Merteuil and her misogynistic former lover, the
Victome de Valmont.
The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal
Cecile de Volanges before the girl can be wed. Valmont offers a more difficult
counter-challenge: he bets the Marquise that he will be able to bed the very
moral and very married Madame de Tourvel.
In the course of carrying out his
plan, Valmont is stricken with a sudden case of horror and remorse, while the
Marquise becomes all the more vicious.
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