In a dystopian future, Étienne, the son of an influential family in City 14 (formerly Montreal), flees to a neighboring commune to escape an alienating world. He finds himself torn between two opposing realities, where freedom clashes with comfort, leading to a tragic struggle for emancipation.
Montreal, Winter 2002. Stéphane, 19 years old, fan of Metal, student in graphic design, dreams of becoming an illustrator. But for months he has been caught in a threatening spiral: he is addicted to games. Indebted, without an apartment, avoiding his friends to whom he owes money, Stéphane takes a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant in a major Italian restaurant in Montreal in order to get by. There, he will meet Bébert, a cook who burns the candle at both ends, and Greg, a waiter with disreputable actions. Will Stéphane make it through this new job or will he fall into a downward spiral of bad choices?
In 1988, in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, an 11-years-old boy is worried for his grandmother's life. Worn out by illness, the old storyteller tries to convince her grandson that Death no longer exists. Her story will bring back to life the extraordinary people from the village in 1927 who, by using rocambolesque tricks, will eliminate Death that threatens them. From now on, Death will coincide with the birth of legends.
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.
Nemo Nobody leads an ordinary existence with his wife and 3 children; one day, he wakes up as a mortal centenarian in the year 2092.
Brazilian native Priscilla Paredes is intent on staying in Montreal, despite the expiration of her student visa. Out of desperation, she takes a job as an exotic dancer at the Elixir, a downtown strip club, where she meets Milagro, a headstrong Quebecoise and fellow dancer who, ironically, longs to move to Brazil. Priscilla is welcomed into Milagro's secret family life, and introduced to her young daughter Chloé; Milagro in turn teaches Priscilla how to fight for what she wants, for what she needs.
Rose hardly ever tells lies. She has a natural elegance and sincerity that few 20-year-old girls possess. However, neither her friends nor her boyfriend know about her difficult past. She’s managed to hide it well, even though she is still haunted by her father’s violence.