Paris. A crowded boulevard. Somebody drops a crumpled scrap of paper into the outstretched hand of a begging woman. The paper is the link that briefly connects the paths of some very different people. Anne is a budding young movie actress. She lives mostly for her work and has little time for her private life. Her boyfriend, Georges, has left his wife and young son. He's a war photographer and is rarely in France. Georges's father is a farmer, and his younger brother doesn't want to take over the farm. Amadou is a music therapist in a school for the deaf and dumb. His family comes from Senegal and disapproves of his white girlfriend. His younger sister is deaf and dumb. Amadou took up his career because of her. His father is a taxi driver. Maria is from Romania. The money she makes from begging, she sends to her family. She is deported to Romania and spends some time with her husband, children and grandchildren, before starting the humiliating journey back to France all over again. We follow the stories of these characters and the people they meet along the way. What do they have in common?