In Thaddert, a mountain village, a teenager, Idhir kills Alki, his childhood companion, to avenge the honor of an adopted brother, Tebbiche, whose moustache Akli has publicly shaved. Then he flees into the desert to escape the vengeance of his victim's brothers. In the south, he will make a friend, Messaound, who, shocked by his aggressiveness and his silence, will lead him to an exorcist, who, with the virtues of hypnosis and catharsis, will help him to come to terms with himself. Idir will then return to Kabylia and give himself up to Akli's family. Disconcerted by his approach, Akli's father and brothers decide to let him live, on the condition that he take the place of the deceased son within their family. Idir and the djemâa accept the compromise, but when the time comes to integrate his new family, Idir runs away to join his mother. Two rifle shots interrupt his run.