After years apart, three Algerian brothers - jaded ex-soldier Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), former political prisoner Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila) and gangster Saïd (Jamel Debbouze) - reunite in the mid-1950s in France.
Radicalised Abdelkader convinces Messaoud to join the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and commit acts of terrorism in the fight for Algerian independence from its French colonial masters.
Saïd refuses to be a part of their plans, preferring to focus on his nightclub and coaching boxers, which causes friction among the brothers.
But as the police close in on Abdelkader and Messaoud, the siblings must join forces to stay alive.