The hero of the film, Vive, is an adolescent dissatisfied with his comfortable existence after graduating from high school. He and his friend, Romache, are led to revolt. For Vive, this initially takes the form of a whirlwind fling, which includes a tiresome romance with a blonde, but he soon sets out in search of a more significant existence. In time he becomes fully involved with the human drama he discovers in the life on an industrial site.

Romache joins him but, in contrast, his bravado against conventions disappears when he is confronted with actual alternatives.

In its investigation of the psychology of present-day youth, the film analyses their hopes, anxieties, desires, and, above all, their inability to make decisions.