After moving to France from the Ivory Coast in the 1980s, young mother Rose (Annabelle Lengronne) must work low-paying jobs to raise Jean and Ernest. Yet Rose seems an indomitable force of nature; her enthusiasm for life in her new country apparently inextinguishable, her trust that she will land on her feet and find love unshakable. Spanning 20 years and structured in chapters, Mother and Son is an impassioned and emotionally rich chronicle of a constantly evolving family.