During the height of the tourist season, the rivalry between the manager of a slightly fancy restaurant and the proprietor of a nearby fast-food stand becomes quite heated, and shots are fired. In this comedy, the restaurant is run with an iron hand by its "patronne," and the help eventually have had enough. If that weren't sufficient trouble, the children of the owners of both establishments are romantically entangled, further infuriating the passions of the feuding food fanatics.

Jeanne has been divorced for seven years now and her life is centered around Sarah, her fifteen year-old daughter. They appear to have a perfectly harmonious life together, a relationship based on deep mutual understanding and trust. So when Sarah needs a contraceptive, it's her mother who goes alone to the drugstore with her. However, under this idyllic surface there are tensions at work. Jeanne's on and off affair with Pierre does not save her from feeling lonely, and Sarah is bored by school. Both of them dream of an independent life, though neither will admit it.