Daniel Lefebvre (Phillipe Torreton) works as the principal of an infant school in the poverty stricken region of Hernaing. His attempts to serve his pupils are thwarted by the incompetence and laziness of the local authorities. He becomes involved with the struggle of a local family to escape from the squalor and depression of the area. However, all his efforts seem in vain, and his wife Valéria (Maria Pitarresi) grows resentful of his reluctance to have another child.