Betty (Beatrice Dalle) and Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) have a passionate, if somewhat unconventional relationship. When she discovers his half-written novel she burns his house down and forces him to go to Paris with her in search of fame. There they team up with another couple, who run a pizza joint, before moving south, where Betty begins her tragic demise into madness and eventual death.

When Montmartre-dwelling Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) discovers a hidden collection of childhood toys in her apartment and conspires to return them to their now-elderly owner, the happiness on the old man's face is enough to start her on a campaign of further good works. Thus she sends her father's gnome off on a tour of the world, begins a whispering campaign which helps her colleague Georgette find a boyfriend, and comes up with an imaginative way to stop a local grocer from being cruel to his employee. But even though Amelie brings happiness to her neighbours, she herself remains unlucky in love - that is, until she meets the handsome Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz).