Canada in the 1990s. The approaching referendum on Quebec sovereignty is threatening to cleave the country in two, while a family struggles with the aftermath of a tragedy that changes their lives forever.

After losing his parents, Steve Horvath is taken in by his aunt Paula. But how can a woman guide her teenaged nephew through the most tumultuous years of his life, when she faces her own crises? And how can a country mend a rift hundreds of years in the making?

Montreal in the mid-1990s sets the stage for the this thoughtful character study on the dynamics of identity, culture, and cohesion, of a family and country in turmoil.