The melodramatic story of a widow, Marie Paradis, as she becomes an elderly dependant. Taking charge is her daughter-in-law, the cruel and stingy Céleste. Marie answers to all the stereotypes of the traditional mother: she's generous, loving.

A tiny Quebec community is thrown into an uproar when a tall young Texan named Bill arrives to claim a farm he has inherited. Bill's inability to speak French, and his apparent unwillingness to learn the language, foments plenty of ill will in the community. The story is resolved with an abundance of warmth and humor, sometimes hokey, sometimes hilarious.

An efficiency expert is called in to downsize a trucking company and the employees fight to establish a union to save their jobs.

A little girl wants to buy some lace and something for le petit Jésus, but her family is too destitute. She crosses paths with a thief who has forgotten his name.