After the sudden death of her mother, Aurore Gagnon is abused by her disturbed step-mother as her town remains in the silence followed by her death. Based on a true story.
It is the early 20th century. A stranger arrives in the small, rural community and disrupts the lives of its inhabitants. The man, who refuses to give his name, is dubbed The Outlander. A traveller who disdains conventional behaviour and parochialism, The Outlander disturbs the villagers' complacency and scandalizes the community; he also elicits admiration and gains a woman's love. He ultimately leaves in the same manner he had arrived, but not before he has helped the villagers open their eyes to the larger world beyond their village.
The story takes place during the colonization of the Laurentian region in Quebec towards the end of the 19th century (approx. 1885-90), near Sainte-Adèle. An unscrupulous man, Séraphin Poudrier, dominates the small community using his wealth. Mayor of the village, he will marry Donalda Laloge, after her father, unable to repay his debt, gives her to him in marriage. Donalda, a gentle and submissive woman who was promised to the handsome Alexis Labranche, rather, he will live his life according to the wishes of this petty and contemptuous miser, but will never let his situation get him down.
After inheriting a pig farm from their father, sisters Stephane and Betty do their best to keep the family business running. But while the very pregnant Betty is diligent about doing the work that needs to be done, Stephane can focus only on her crippling gambling problem, which has landed her in deep trouble with her creditors. Desperate for cash, she considers a dangerous option for repaying the debt … but will it work?
After an unpleasant run-in with a group of bikers, a young convenience store robber (Marc) gets approached by the same bikers to help out with a picnic. After the picnic, seeing he has guts, the bikers propose him for membership. As the story unfolds, Marc winds up questioning his own morality and wondering whether he's going down the wrong path. The biggest problem, however, is that one of his friends got him into trouble, and he has little time to fix it...
