Algiers, 1993. The beginning of the civil war. Portrait of Algiers’ women under the curfew. Since her husband left her, Madame Osmane’s tenants have had to endure her continual mood swings. Haunted by the fear of losing her respectability, this woman, who was an underground during Algeria’s war for independence, does everything she can to manipulate the lives of the people living under her roof rather than confront her own frustrations. Learning that her daughter has fallen in love, she is faced with the prospect of ending up alone. The idea drives this still-attractive woman to distraction : Madame Osmane’s symbolic " harem " - the citadel where she spends her time manipulating her little world – is about to implode.