Paris, summer 1942. Irene is a young, bubbly, 19-year-old Jewish girl. Her family watches her discover the world, friends, new love and a passion for the theatre. The aspiring actress is living her youthful life without a care in the world, but she does not know that time may be running out.

Julie finally gets an interview for a job where she can raise her children better only to run into a national transit strike.

A seemingly ordinary day in the life of Quentin, a Parisian film-lover. After going to the cinema twice, he runs into a former college friend, listens to a girls' conversation in a bar, then goes and meet his best friend, has a beer, and ends up spending the evening in the Parc Montsouris, where he meets Lise.

Three siblings comprise the latest generation in a family of puppeteers led with passion by their father. They are magicians of a kind, but can barely make ends meet, working mainly for the love of their craft. Their grandmother contributes too, not only as a seamstress but also as a repository of memories and wisdom. A tragic event will challenge the desire of each sibling to carry on.

Jean is a "slow" man, he builds his life around his anxieties, and considers himself unsuited to life in society. He lives with Alex, who is a "fast" man. Passionate about aerodynamics and eurodance, Alex lives fast and asks himself as few questions as possible. One morning, he receives a fast friend, Lou, at their place, while Jean had also planned to receive a slow friend, Caroline.

The day after she meets Quentin, Lise joins Jade, her roommate, at a farm in the countryside where a small festival of sorts is being held.

Yann, an eccentric performance poet, hopes to change the world and fight injustice armed with his megaphone. After his property is seized, he shows up at his daughter's house for the weekend. Now over 60, Yann realizes that Dune no longer has room in her life to continue dealing with her troublesome father.