The film features several different storylines, all of which intersect periodically throughout the film. The film's opening scene features a brief encounter with four of the main characters: Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) is an actress working in Paris, and she walks briefly with her boyfriend's younger brother Jean. After they part, Jean throws a piece of garbage at Maria, a homeless woman sitting on the side of the road. Amadou, the child of Malian immigrants, witnesses this and confronts Jean. The two fight, and eventually Jean, Maria, and Amadou are all taken to a police station for questioning. Amadou and Jean are released without any issues, but Maria is deported to her native Romania. She reconnects with her family there, but before long returns to Paris again, only to find herself homeless on the same street at the film's end.