Benjamin Tholon and his fiancée Hélène are driving back from what was supposed to have been a relaxing skiing holiday in Switzerland. When their car suddenly breaks down in a snow blizzard, they are saved by an unlikely rescuer who offers them overnight shelter in a remote farm. Christened ‘The Wilter’, this rural retreat is home to matriarch philosophy teacher Francesca and her charming litigator husband, Jérôme.

Before long, the stranded guests Benjamin and Hélène begin arguing over their predicament. Then, when the ever-curious Benjamin begins roaming the house, he makes a chilling and scarcely believable discovery: from beneath the farm’s floorboards, muffled voices cry out to him. 

Deep underground and in the shadow of history, a deadly scheme is at work, fuelled by obsession, resentment and an insatiable thirst for youth...

Winner of the 1997 Renaudot Prize, 'They Stole Our Beauty' is a profound and disturbing meditation on aesthetics, social justice and the politics of self-and-other relations.