Mary is a young girl, daughter of shepherds, promised in marriage to Joseph, a widower with two children, living in the nearby village of Nazareth, in the Galilee of two thousand years ago. Grown up in love and respect for the little ones, Mary, after leaving her home, soon sees the distortions of the patriarchal world surrounding her, starting with her husband's family. Here he reads the oldest brother of Joseph, Mordecai. The sunny and determined attitude of the girl, protective of children, arouses the indignation of the head of the family and those who are convinced of the need to give them punishment, discipline and submission.

The year is 2004. France has passed a law banning religious symbols in public schools. Mariam, born in France to Arab parents, recently began to wear the hijab after performing the hajj with her grandmother. At the start of the academic year, she pretends the new law does not exist, as she does not want to acknowledge it and so be forced to make a decision. To complicate matters, Karim, a popular young Arab boy in school, starts paying attention to her and she develops a powerful crush on him. While her fellow veiled classmates argue with teachers about their desire to keep wearing the hijab, and her parents argue about her wearing hers, Mariam dreams of Karim, despite her best friend Sophia’s warning that he is not serious. Things come to a head when the deadline for removing the hijab or facing expulsion falls the same week Mariam sees Karim with another girl.