In 19th-century Quebec, Claire, a kitchen hand for a group of fishermen, dreams of learning the men's trade. When she’s invited on a midnight fishing lesson, a nightmare unfolds, and Saule, a nurse, devotes herself to saving her. Together, the two women face their own wounds and join forces to survive.

Fouad, a 15-year-old Moroccan immigrant, and Max, a 27-year-old "old stock" Quebecer, both live frustrating lives. Their respective destinies lead them face to face, in a situation from which neither will emerge unscathed.