Sofiane is the westernised young son of an Algerian diplomat who imagines he will take up a similar position when he finishes his studies in France. His life seems to be going to plan; nobody else recognises the anxiety seething beneath his apparent self-assurance. El Haj is a moody, taciturn and unsympathetic older man who works in a Muslim funeral home. When Sofiane is obliged to get a job quickly to regularise his immigrant status, he becomes an intern at the home, working under El Haj’s direction. Difficult as this is, Sofiane finds himself learning more about life from this sour man than how to deal with the dead – and discovering himself at the same time.