Set in a small rural town in the Quebec Laurentian Mountains, Michelle lives in an isolated house with her mentally-challenged brother Guy and her 13 year old daughter Manon. Together the three of them survive by running a small firewood business and performing other odd jobs. Michelle is frustrated with living in poverty and being the center of several people who demand her affection; her brother is like a second child who lives in his own world, his romantic obsession with their wealthy client Madame Viau-Vachon being an exercise in futility. Maurice, the local police chief, is her lover and Gaetan, a mechanic and family friend, would like to be. Most demanding of all is her daughter, who has an unhealthy emotional dependence on her. Precocious and uninterested in school, Manon is jealous of her mother's suitors and angry at being left home to do chores and care for Guy. Then an event occurs that threatens the emotional dynamic between Manon and her mother.
Charlotte Laurier
as Manon
Marie Tifo
as Michelle
Germain Houde
as Guy
Louise Marleau
as Mrs. Viau-Vachon
Roger Le Bel
as Maurice
Gilbert Sicotte
as Gaetan
Serge Thériault
as Lucien
Jean-Pierre Bergeron
as Fernand
Léo Ilial
as Samaritain (as Leo Ilial)
Madeleine Chartrand
as Girl at the bar
Louise Rinfret
as Girl at the bar
Eric Beauséjour
as Cousin
