Nathalie has everything under control, professionally and personally. She teaches philosophy at a Paris high school and writes books. She has two grown children with her husband Heinz, a fellow teacher. Her only worry is her depressive mother. But then Heinz leaves her for a younger woman, her mother develops dementia and dies in a home, and her publisher raises issues about agreed-upon new editions of her books. With a new freedom thrust upon her, Nathalie turns to a connection with a former favourite student, who lives far away from the big city and is forging plans for a future society with likeminded people