Ten-year-old Max is spending his holidays with his grandmother in the small world of the Manouches; they long ago adopted a sedentary way of life and now live in campers and small prefabs on the outskirts of Strasbourg. One day, he finds himself listening to the Swing manouche that a Rom named Miraldo is playing in a bar – a style of jazz that goes back to the legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt. All Max now fervently desires is to learn to play the guitar à la Django from Miraldo who actually agrees to give the boy lessons, and Max discovers a whole new world. Gypsy jazz soon becomes his passion.

Here, Max also meets Swing, a wild and self-confident Manouche girl of his own age. Soon, the two are firm friends. And before long, Swing has a surprise in store for him that turns his life upside down.