Nineteen-year-old Pavel works in the local factory, like his father and his grandfather before him. He spends his free time on the banks of the Loire River with Anja, his childhood friend, who he is now secretly in love with. Although Anja dreams of freedom and is getting ready to sit her Baccalaureat exam, Pavel isn't worries: they've grown up together, they'll grow old together. But when layoffs are announced at the factory, Anja is wooed by Antoine, the factory boss's son. For the first time in his life, Pavel is no longer certain of anything.