Twenty-two year old Franck, a business school student in Paris, returns to his parents' home during an internship at the factory where his father has been employed for the past thirty years. After years of independence, Franck renews his ties with his family, especially his father, much to the older man's joy.

At the factory, Franck is assigned to the Human Resources department. Self-assured and confident, he believes he can shake up the conversativism of the management that has had trouble negotiating the reduction of the work week with the unions. He approaches his task with enthusiasm, until the day he discovers that his efforts are actually serving to accomodate a plan to restructure the company by firing a number of employees, including his father. The furious confrontation that ensues will oblige father and son to ponder their relationship while confronting the reality of their own lives, present and past.