Thomas, disaffected by his parents divorce, goes to a boarding catholic school but is spending the weekend with his family and he is going to have first communion.

The boy tries to get the money for the convict stealing from Lili, his mother, but then sees her sad and, in a moment of love, gives it back to her, admitting what he's done.

Lili has to perform her marital duties even after the divorce - while Maurice screens old home-movies of their domestic happiness long past and gone.

He has no money and at the end of the night, fascinated by the young man, she arranges for the fugitive to take a room at a local hotel.

When she arrives home, her son tells her the story in the cemetery, as it was a dream he had, but she realizes that it actually happened and the convict is the man she just left in the hotel.

The celebration in honor of the Holy Communion goes on with little family harmony after Thomas wishes that an atomic bomb would destroy his school.

The boy's teacher and confessor confronts him with the published news of the two escapees and pressures him to tell the truth to the authorities.

That same stormy night, Thomas escapes from the boarding school to see his mother, but when he arrives to her house, he discovers Lili and Martin making love.

Director André Téchiné is especially drawn to the exploration of family affairs as can be seen in his acclaimed film: My Favorite Season (1993), also starring Catherine Deneuve.

The film shares with most of Téchiné's work a restless camera movement and seemingly casual editing that suggest a nervous, intense curiosity, equivalent to an artist's rapid sketching.