Monique (Monique Melinand) is dying of cancer, lying in bed in the apartment above the store her family owns. Her philandering husband, Roger (Hubert Deschamps), carries on with life, groping the female customers. Her son, Philippe (Philippe Léotard), remains aloof and impatient. Her daughter-in-law, Nathalie (Nathalie Baye), wonders if she is witnessing her own future decline. The four individuals struggle to express, or even feel, their love for one another, as they await the inevitable.