[9] Dounia is a teenage girl living in a Romani banlieue on the outskirts of Paris with her mother and aunt.

She and her best friend Maimouna hustle for money, shoplifting from supermarkets and then reselling their wares on the streets to their classmates.

The two girls have a secret hiding place in the catwalk of a local theatre where they observe dance auditions.

Rebecca, a local drug dealer, shows the kids a video from a trip to Thailand and plans to move there for the growing sex tourism.

Rebecca gives Dounia and Maimouna a series of odd jobs which they successfully complete, working up the ranks from chores to dealing drugs.

Djigui tells her he has been hired as the principal dancer in the show and gives her tickets to watch him perform, along with the money.

Enraged, Dounia attacks Rebecca before she throws a lighter and the room they are in catches fire with them locked inside.

The firemen arrive in time, but wait outside as they are not allowed to fight fires in the neighbourhood anymore without the presence of riot police.