Fifty-year-old Mathias, freshly divorced and without a cent, arrives in Paris to sell the house he's inherited from his father. He discovers that this magnificent townhouse in the Marais is inhabited by a ninety-two-year-old woman, Mathilde, and her daughter, Chloé. Many years ago, Mathilde sold the townhouse to Mathias's father in return for a life annuity, a typically French custom that this pragmatic American of course does not understand. Just like he doesn't understand why, on top of everything else, he also has to pay Mathilde an annuity.