French couple Jean and Marie go on their honeymoon in Jean's hometown in Africa. They end up in the middle of a tense political situation as soon as they arrive and must spend the night in hiding. Jean begins to take on some of his father's old French colonialist attitude, which comes into drastic conflict with their current situation. As they struggle to stay alive, Marie rethinks her marriage to Jean.

Mati, a divorced mother of a young daughter, makes a living selling bric-a-bric from a wheelbarrow and dreams of opening a snack bar. But she falls for the charms of Naago, a cop, and it's only when the Tajaboom festival (at which women and men switch roles) arrives that her opportunity for escape emerges.