Set during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, the story follows a French soldier who becomes separated from his regiment and lost in the desert. Near death from thirst and exhaustion, he stumbles upon a hidden oasis—and there, he encounters a panther. But instead of attacking, the animal shows an eerie calmness. Over time, the soldier and the panther develop a strange, almost romantic connection. He begins to see the creature as a companion, even a woman in feline form.