Sarah is part of a strange, marginal ménage à trois with her contemporary Louis and the older Ji-Guy, she fills her days with petty crime. During the day she hangs around with Louis by motorways, where she deceives and robs innocent people offering a lift. One day things go wrong: a driver dies during a robbery attempt. Sarah can’t stop thinking about the dead man and goes looking for the wife he left behind. In her, she finally finds something of the security and friendship she had unconsciously been seeking for so long. But her alternative family doesn’t just let her go.

During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.