Novelist Betty Fisher enters a dark depression after her young son Joseph dies. Hoping to bring her out of it, her mother Margot arranges to kidnap a boy named Jose to replace the son Betty lost. Although she knows that it's wrong, Betty accepts Jose as her new son. Meanwhile, Jose's mother Carole is searching for her son with help from her boyfriend Francois--and some of his criminal cohorts.
Damien lives with his mother Marianne, a doctor, while his father is on a tour of duty abroad. He is bullied by Thomas, whose mother is ill. The boys find themselves living together when Marianne invites Thomas to come and stay with them.