Julien works in an office and lives with his invalid mother and his girlfriend in a pre-war Paris apartment. He feels like the two women take advantage of him and at night, he dreams of sex and violence. Meanwhile, a murderer is loose in Paris, killing women. One day in the metro, Julien believes he sees a murder victim from his dreams; the enigmatic beauty leads him into an old shopping arcade peopled by strange figures, where he meets prostitute Bichette. The independent, confident young woman starts an affair with the clerk. But then Julien witnesses a real murder in the glass-roofed arcade…

1989, die Mauer ist gefallen, und die 50-jährige Marilena fährt mit dem Auto los, um ihre Verwandten in Ostdeutschland zu besuchen. Auf ihrer Fahrt hat sie viel Zeit, ihre Kindheits- und Jugenderinnerungen Revue passieren zu lassen.

Sisters Maria and Anna live together. Maria is a most proficient executive secretary, encouraging Anna to finish her studies and start a career. Anna broods, threatens to quit university, takes pills, and keeps a diary. When Maria's relationship with Maurice, the son of her boss, starts to lead to love, Anna takes a selfish and drastic step that plummets Maria into solitude. No longer able to connect with Maurice, Maria does establish a relationship with Miriam, a typist at her office who becomes a surrogate younger sister. But Maria is intrusive as well as helpful. Can this or any relationship work out for this talented woman whose past seems to choke her soul?