Thierry (Vincent Lindon), 51 years old, family man and trained machinist, has been unemployed for 20 months and is in search of a new job. In the process, he has to complete pointless training courses and absolve hopeless job interviews. Again and again he reaches the point where he has to ask himself whether he can still afford to insist on his principles. When he finally finds a job as a department store detective, he finds himself once again in a moral dilemma that finally confronts him with the choice of whether or not he is capable of obeying the laws of the market.