Alexandre lives in Lyon with his wife and children. One day, he discovered by chance that the priest who abused him to scouts always officiates with children. He then starts a fight, quickly joined by François and Emmanuel, also victims of the priest, to "release their word" on what they suffered.
Successful woman in love tries to break her family curse of every first marriage ending in divorce, by dashing to the alter with a random stranger before marrying her boyfriend.
In early twentieth-century Brittany, two peasants marry, have a son, and live in traditional Breton ways: three generations under one roof, a division of labor between the sexes, elders' stories at night, politics and religion during their little free time. Times are hard: la Chienne du Monde drives some to suicide; Ankou (death) is close at hand. Pierre is born into this republican family, his lyric childhood interrupted by the outbreak of war and his father's conscription. He learns his catechism and, as a child of a Reds, also reveres school. His grandfather and father often put him on their shoulders, giving him a ride on the horse of pride.
A bad joke by two unruly teenagers backfires. Julien and Hervé give their teacher, Eliane, a hard time until they are suspended. To get revenge, he decides to kidnap her and hide her in an isolated house to scare her, but nothing will go as planned.