Autumn 1985. A storm awakens the Mediterranean. A village is devastated, crops destroyed. On the beach, the waves have washed up a whale. Dead, it is declared a carrier of disease. Corbac, a sick and misanthropic winegrower, wants to save the cetacean's skeleton from being blown up for sanitary reasons. Day and night, his daughter Mathilde watches as the largest of creatures is paraded piece by piece in front of the church, the school, and the distillery, awakening the unconsciousness and violence of the villagers. Mathilde knows her father. He will see it through to the end...