The life of a Middle-East family of immigrants in Europe. The father carries the heavy burden of banishment. To rescue his culture, his traditions, is mandatory, so he remains faithful to his past, his origins, to himself. His daughter is now a grown-up. He worries and wishes she would get married soon. The young woman leaves the family home every morning, but changes her clothes in a bar before she goes to work, her hair down. She puzzles the young boss of the company that employs her. He fell in love and is ready to do anything to marry her. But the young woman keeps her freedom of choice, just like her mother had done with her father. She won’t have time to introduce the only man for her to her parents. A friend of her father’s catches them. In a cafe.

Like every year in Zitouna, a bear handler passes by. With his creature, he comes to challenge the small community. And like every year, it is Slimane El Mabrouk who defends the honor of the tribe. But this time, he dies, leaving two orphans, Omar and Ourida. Robbed of their inheritance, the children will grow up alone. The years pass, the French army settles in, and with it, the war. Mysteriously, one day, after the murder of a French legionnaire, Omar disappears into the bush, while his sister dies in childbirth. Omar will return to the village, much later, once independence has been acquired, as a representative of power and with this enigmatic formula: "You must know that the Revolution has not forgotten you". Personal revenge? Sincere desire to bring progress and modernity? ... The inhabitants of Zitouna, upset in their ancestral way of life, will not be long in having an answer to their questions.

Le match France - Algérie vient chambouler le train-train de Brahim et Mouloud. Cet évènement va diviser les deux amis : Brahim revendique son identité algérienne, Mouloud fustige son refus de la France, pays qui les a vu grandir.