In the French-Acadian village of Grand-Pre in Nova Scotia, it is the middle of the eighteenth century. The priest, Father Felician, announces that two children were born the same morning: Gabriel Lajeunesse and Evangeline Bellefontaine, both delivered by midwife Madame Hebert. The two children grow up together under the occupation of British troops. Eventually Gabriel proposes marriage to Evangeline. Her free-spirited friend, Praline, is unhappy about this. On the day before the wedding, the British force the Acadians from their homes and burn the village.