A young Vietnamese boy's life is thrown into turmoil by the war raging in his country. The ten year old remains with his mother and baby sister as his father goes off to fight for the Viet Cong. During his father's absence, his mother dies from overwork and the inability to find proper medical care for her illness. He cares for his baby sister and struggles to earn a living by shining shoes and doing other odd jobs before his father returns. Both an American soldier and a Viet Cong regular are shown defending their country's political agenda. Also shown are guerilla tactics and bombings in this feature directed by veteran combat photographer Raoul Coutard.

Anyone who has ever ventured to the "Land of the Deafs" will have been struck by the strangeness of the choreographed signs with which deaf people express themselves. Developed ages ago, these signs constitute a veritable language. As precise and subtle as speech, they are as effective as spoken language in making a declaration love or providing a detailed technical description. Jean-Claude, Jeanine, Eric, Cyril, Alain, Juliette, Guy, Aurélien and René have one thing in common - they are all profoundly deaf. So they dream, think and communicate in sign language. Which means that they see the world differently. Viewers embark with them on a discovery of the distant land of the deaf, where sight and touch assume enormous importance.