In this novel of two parts - originally two separate novellas - we see the heroine Minne at two stages in her life. The cherished teenager, only child of a devoted mother, has a secret life: she wishes to belong to one of the street gangs who roam the outer boulevards of Paris. Her desire for excitement, power and love, drives the innocent into a dangerous adventure. Years later, as a married woman, she remains dissatisfied. She takes lovers, none of whom can make her a 'whole woman'. Only when her marital crisis reaches an extreme pitch does she find the answer, in an unexpected place. The Innocent Libertine was among the earliest works to be published by Colette under her own name.