A middle-aged disabled man unknowingly begins a lonely hearts correspondence with his own unmarried sister, who takes care of him. As he writes more and more to her, he begins to fall in love, and she, knowing that it is her brother who is writing, discovers a new, tender side to him. But trouble looms when he asks to meet her in person.

Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and her favorite, an Algerian lad whom she raises as a Muslim. He asks about his parents; she answers evasively. As she ages and takes fewer children, Momo must do more for her; as money is tight, he tries to earn pennies on the street with a puppet. He's a beautiful man-child, and Madame Rosa makes him promise never to sell himself or become a pimp. A film editor, Nadine, befriends him, and his father appears as well. Madame Rosa reaches her last days in fear of hospitals, and Momo must act.

Céline是一个自由奔放的女人，嫁给了一个迟钝的中层经理Philippe。因为工会的缘故，她丈夫的同事认为她是家里的装饰品。她和一位女士交上了朋友，这位女士向她展示了如何兼顾夫妇的生活费用来获得她想要的东西。当她坚持自己的独立并逐渐从丈夫幽闭恐惧的世界中解放出来时，她转向了绘画和写作性别之间的不平等。