 Harry, a 16 year-old teenager of Malian origin receives an oficial letter. He is informed of the death of his mother whose children were removed from her care by social services at an early age. He was placed in a children s home, and his younger brother, Souleyman, in a foster family in the countryside. Harry decides to run away to recover Souleyman, who he now considers as his unique link with his origins and to go with him to visit their family in Africa. In the middle of the night, he calls his friend Franck, a teenager of Caribbean origin, who allows himself to be persuaded to undertake with him this journey to the countryside. The reunion between Harry and Souleyman is very emotional. Souleyman seems to be more moved by the meeting with his brother than by the announcement of his mother s death, initially hidden by his foster parents, simple country folks. The two run-away teenagers spend the night in the stables among calves and pigs. Souleyman, glad to have found Harry, is ready to follow him to the end of the world. It is nonetheless in a state of despair that he too decides to leave the family that has always provided him with affection and stability. The group finds itself roaming about the city, suffering at the hands of hunger and isolation, sleeping in car parks and trying at all costs to find a kebab or a bottle of milk. Outside the technical college, they meet a mixed-race friend of Franck s who offers to put them up for a week-end while his parents are away. Before going to a rap concert at the local youth centre, they dress Souleyman up in the latest fashion and do up his hair. At the party, Souleyman meets Assia, a young African. He looses sight of her in a fight, which he provoked without meaning it. Back in the streets, they find shelter in an abandoned factory. The three of them spiral into petty crime in order to get food or to go to the local swimming pool to wash their personal effects.