Three French-Algerian brothers deal with their grief following the death of their mother in their own different ways in this drama. Marc (Nicolas Cazale) is a angry and confused young man obsessed with drugs, working out, and capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts discipline. The only friendship that makes Marc feel secure is his relationship with his dog, and when Marc falls behind in his payments to his drug connection Montana (Nicolas Paz), the dealer takes revenge in an especially painful manner. Christophe (Stephane Rideau), Marc's older brother, has just completed a stay in prison and is trying to put his life back together through hard work and capoeira while urging Marc to stay on the straight and narrow. However, Christophe is unable to convince his father (Bruno Lochet) to forgive him for falling to the wrong side of the law while his mother was dying. And Olivier (Thomas Dumerchez), the youngest of the three siblings, feels lost amidst the agony and mourning of his household until he becomes involved with Marc's friend Hicham (Salim Kechiouche), who teaches him the finer points of capoeira and allows him to accept his homosexual nature. Le Clan was released in the United States as Three Dancing Slaves, a reference to the dance-oriented art of capoeira.