The ten-year-old François is a child of the French foster care system after having been abandoned by his mother before the film begins.

[2] François is soon kicked out of this foster home after dropping a cat down a flight of stairs and other cruel acts such as vandalism and theft, although some of François's good character is seen upon his actions in nursing the cat he dropped and giving a gift to his foster mother upon leaving.

[1] Although taking place in the year 1968 with student riots overtaking the streets of Paris, Pialat's film does not delve into the politics of that matter.

[3] Pialat, a self-proclaimed conservative, does explore the life of a foster child in detail extending beyond the context of the main character and plot.

[1] However, the treatment of social aspects in this film does not take sides but lays the foundation for the intricacies of the issues of the working class and, more thoroughly, the problems of the foster care system in 1960s France for the audience to interpret.