At the age of 37, Simon (Jérémie Renier) is already a ward doctor in the pneumology department of a French hospital.
In his years as a lung specialist, he has learned what it means to have to face death and how important it is as a doctor to distance himself emotionally.
But he is no longer able to do this when his mother Mathilde (Marthe Keller) is admitted to hospital.
She has cancer and the chances of recovery are slim.
Simon's private and professional lives collide violently and his self-image as a doctor begins to falter.
In order to save his mother, he not only oversteps his personal boundaries, but also his medical skills, until he realizes what it actually means to say goodbye to a loved one.