Nara is a 30-year-old Rom who lives in a run-down housing estate on the outskirts of Paris. He, his 9-year-old daughter, Zorka, and his old mother get by on the odd jobs he does and on various petty crimes. Recently, he turned out his wife, Miralda, since she went against his will and took the pill.

Despite her old age, his mother is intent on learning to read and to write. Her aim is to write her memoirs and describe the bleakness and hardships of gypsy life: in their desolate apartment, they are constantly being harassed by the authorities and the police. One day, after an especially brutal fight with another slum dweller, who is a Gadjo, a non-Rom, the police unceremoniously evict Nara and his small family.

Miralda’s three brothers are also hard on Nara’s heels, they’re not quite prepared to accept that he simply disowned his wife. And Miralda is determined to be reunited with her daughter. And so they all find themselves on the road …