Adolescent French suburban lower-middle-class nerd Marc Morel was happy being the teacher's pet and school representative in a Latin competition. Until he meets and instantly falls in love with fatherless semi-illiterate shop clerk and ditto-daughter Martine Pérez. As his overbearing father Robert feared, stripling hormones run wild at the expense of academic future-building, but paternal authority is overruled by 'young love', which even yields peer-acceptance. Cool big brother Christian, a photographer, tries a more understanding approach, but even that runs into trouble.

Marc Morel, lycéen de 16 ans, est un garçon plutôt brillant, mais qui rencontre quelques difficultés à communiquer avec ses parents. Il prend pour modèle son frère ainé Christian, reporter photographe. Au cours de l'année scolaire, Marc s'éprend de Martine, ce qui le pertube fortement dans son travail scolaire, et envenime les relations avec ses parents. Il se rapproche alors davantage de son frère, mais un évènement de la vie professionnelle de celui-ci va faire basculer son opinion...