Returning from a vacation in Spain in September, Agathe, a dental technician, and her husband Alexandre, a salesman, break down on a deserted stretch of freeway. They are then forced to follow a mechanic who appears out of nowhere. Towed to an isolated camp in the middle of nowhere, the couple discovers a family composed of six adopted children, all approximately 25 years old and of different origins. Forced to wait for the car's engine to be repaired, the vacationers participate in spite of themselves and for a few hours in their community life.

At the height of the Algerian war, Sergeant Dallers discovers Lagrange in his patrol, a boy with learning disabilities enlisted by mistake. The discharge papers are delayed and Lagrange, seeking desperately to be accepted, suffers the humiliations inflicted by the other soldiers. Moved, Dallers soon takes him under his wing.