A man is murdered in Laguiole, Aveyron, Aubrac country. The young Elisabeth Richard, deputy prosecutor of Rodez, is handling the case. She has to deal with the hostility of a police officer, promoted on his own strength and not keen on the idea of being subjected to a young woman. Elisabeth especially has to unravel the tangles of ancestral antagonism and family secrets in order to unmask the culprit. The film is both a criminal investigation and a social painting.

Hugues, in his thirties, is unable to settle down, like a free electron. He turns around Muriel, a young woman who refuses to accept him, finding him too unstable. One day, he meets Florette, another young woman who leads him to an association fighting against evictions. He immediately gets involved and proves to Muriel and to himself that he is capable of commitment. But when it comes to the compromises that building a relationship requires, he squanders his chances, preferring his freedom.