At the age of 12, Antoine's life is dominated by twin passions, dancing to Arabic music and getting his hair cut by the voluptuous, middle-aged local hairdresser, who inadvertently provides him with his first experience of the opposite sex. Antoine reaches middle age with his passion undimmed and upon meeting shy hairdresser Mathilde, he is so taken by her that he proposes marriage. She accepts and he moves into her salon where they pursue their romance with an intensity that blinds them to the mundane realities of the outside world.