The death of a son brings up an avoided state of crisis to the surface. The Swiss colonel and his wife Lucian who lost their young son get sucked into the argument whether to raise a tombstone or plant a rose bush over his buried body. Lucian, who argued for the tombstone, visits the grave site every day, while the colonel, feeling defeated in the argument, starts feeding a wild cat behind the tombstone. The growing alienation between husband and wife is described with Bitter humor as the garden house of the family turns into a crumbling memory of the happiest days of their lives.