Based on the play by Hélène Cixous, filmed in 2002, Tambours sur la Digue is a story written by Hélène Cixous based on an ancient Asian fable about who shall be saved during a flood and presented by live actors as puppets and puppeteers, evoking the theatrical traditions of Japanese Noh and bunraku.

An ex-FBI agent's fight against a crime syndicate becomes personal when they kidnap her granddaughter. She and her daughter, both martial arts masters, form an unstoppable team. Together, they outmaneuver and defeat the syndicate's henchmen in a calculated game of cat and mouse, on a relentless mission to save her and topple the criminal empire.