Set in the 1960s, Juliette Binoche plays Paulette Van Der Beck who has run the Bitche finishing school in Alsace with her husband for many years. At a time when women were expected to be subservient to their husbands, their mission has been to train teenage girls to become perfect housewives. When Paulette’s husband dies suddenly, she discovers the school is on the verge of bankruptcy and must take urgent action. As preparations get underway for a Best Housekeeping TV contest, she and her lively students start to question their beliefs as the nation-wide protests of May 1968 transform society around them.