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。

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.