In a Paris suburb nicknamed Little Jerusalem, a family of Sephardic Orthodox immigrants shares a low-income apartment. Beautiful, teenaged Laura distances herself from her family's religion and her own burgeoning desire by devoting every waking moment to intellectual discipline and secular philosophy. Mathilde, Laura's married older sister, worries that strict observance of the Torah's marital codes has driven her husband Ariel into the bed of another....

A provocative tale of romance, lust, desire, and intrigue based on the lives of 17th century French composer Sainte Colombe and his protege, Marin Marais.