Mathyas swaps his Montreal life as a young advertising executive for that of a shepherd in Provence. But the road to his longed-for pastoral tranquility is littered with hard work. Through self-deprecation, Mathyas survives the violent delirium and decay of the first farmhouse where he begins his apprenticeship. But the arrival of Élise, a civil servant also searching for meaning, gives Mathyas' quest a new direction. Together, they embark on a transhumance. Through the trials and tribulations of the mountains, and with a herd to support, they forge a new life for themselves.