Paul reflects on the summer he met Angèle and Frédéric as he watches his friend being laid to rest.

In 1924, Simone de Beauvoir, a girl with polished appearance, prepares for her final examination in philosophy and meets Jean-Paul Sartre. He seems to know her true personality and considers her the only woman worthy of his intellect. Their chaotic love serves as the premise for her magnum opus The Second Sex.

A ruthless real estate agent discovers a passion for piano and auditions with help from a young virtuoso, but the pressures of his corrupt career threaten to derail his musical aspirations.

1968 and 1969 in Paris: during and after the student and trade union revolt. François is 20, a poet, dodging military service. He takes to the barricades, but won't throw a Molotov cocktail at the police. He smokes opium and talks about revolution with his friend, Antoine, who has an inheritance and a flat where François can stay. François meets Lilie, a sculptor who works at a foundry to support herself. They fall in love. A year passes; François continues to write, talk, smoke, and be with Lilie. Opportunities come to Lilie: what will she and François do?

Marianne leaves Abel for Paul, his best friend and the father of her unborn child. Eight years later, Paul dies and Marianne returns to Abel. However, things have changed for the both of them and feelings of jealousy surround their new relationship.