In an impoverished section of Marseilles, Jeannette is managing to raise a teenage daughter and half-Arab son on a checkout girl's wages. She meets a Marius, a friendly man who works as a guard at an unused cement factory and they strike up a relationship. However, Jeanette soon loses her job after bawling out her boss and Marius retreats to his factory, leaving the future of their relationship to the neighbors and friends they both share.