Paolo (Vincenzo Amato), an Italian who drives a Paris tour bus, has just proposed to his true love, the German stewardess, Greta (Nora Tschirner), when the young French beauty, Cécile (Louise Monot) pulls up beside his bus on her bicycle - and, in short order, Paolo, following some very bad advice from his friend, Derek (Paddy Considine), finds himself with a German fiancée, a French "wife", two Australian children who call him "Papa", and his life upside-down.

Fifteen-year-old ADELE wants to die. She's felt alienated by everything around her since the death of her brother. All that remains in her dull, hard-working life is profound sadness. TIMO (43) is on the run. Eight years ago he had been found guilty of murder and jailed. Now he has finally managed to break out of prison. Injured and exhausted, he tries to hide on Adele's parents' farm.When Adele discovers the escapee, she makes him a frank and eerie offer: she will help him to flee, but once they are in safety, Timo is to kill her. Timo is forced by his circumstances to accept this morbid pact.Suspicion and distrust accompany them on a journey that leads them all the way to Marseille. The boundary between perpetrator and victim fades. The frail Timo can barely stand to be close to this girl; Adele reminds him of his dark duties. The more difficult circumstances become, the more this peculiar couple has to trust each other and eventually both find their way back into life.

Given up for adoption as a toddler, troubled teenager Thomas becomes obsessed with tracking down his birth mother. After years of searching, Thomas finds her single, with a small child, living in a nearby suburb and begins a relationship with her which slowly drives him to an act of madness.