Guillaume loves his mother, Claire, enormously. He finds it increasingly difficult to accept the fact that she is neglecting home and family for men who are unworthy of her, to say the least. Claire true enough, has excuses. Her husband Claude - father to Guillaume and his little sister Julia - has become a violent, bitter alcoholic over the years. He devotes his considerable intelligence to destroying himself, taking his sense of failure out on friends and family. Guillaume's contempt and hatred for his father becomes a little stronger every day. And then there's Laurent, Claire's lover. Laurent comes from a wealthy background, is cynical and amoral if rather charming and somewhat spineless. He reckons he was born to have fun. So he plays with Claire, giving her little more than passing moments of pleasure in the afternoon. Unsurprisingly, Guillaume doesn't think much of Laurent, either. It wouldn't take much for this situation to turn tragic...