The emotional ups-and-downs of a closely-knit but often feuding family is the focus of this sentimental drama by Nadine Trintignant. She is the wife of Jean-Louis Trintignant, who appears as Paul, an impoverished playwright married to Dino (Fanny Ardant). Dino and Paul argue all the time, enough to cause periodic splits in their marriage. Dino's older sister Sidonie (played by Marie Trintignant, Nadine's daughter) is an erstwhile pianist deathly afraid of performing on stage. The parents of Dino and Sidonie are Edouard (Philippe Noiret) and Jeanne (Claudia Cardinale), and they do not get along very well either. Edouard is routinely involved in one extra-marital affair or another, and Jeanne finally throws him out. A climax is reached when Edouard faces an operation after a cerebral hemorrhage, and the entire family, with their spouses, comes together to await the outcome of the operation.