Seventeen-year-old Adrien wants to join a fire station and become a fireman. During training, he realizes that in addition to the difficulties of practical exercises and exams, he also has to find his place in a group where roles are highly codified. His budding desire for Damien, the trainer, is quickly thwarted by the order to be a man.

In the 80s, Jamel is a young musician who lives in Marseille. While he is seeing young Barbara, his mother tells him of the imminent arrival of his uncle Houcine and his cousin Nadia, to whom he would be promised since birth by tradition.