Jean-Yves Machond (Benoît Poelvoorde), a conceptual painter whose career came to an abrupt halt following a series of setbacks, decides to leave Brussels and his job as a teacher to settle in Étretat (in French Normandy), the ultimate embodiment of Impressionism. Here he is seeking inspiration to create his major work that, once presented to the world, will finally earn him eternal glory and recognition. The problem is, he has no idea what he wants to paint… There, between Bagnoule, a figurative painter and bon vivant, a naive, warm-hearted individual who will draw him out of his lethargy with his bonhomie, and the ‘charming’ Cécile de Mauprès (Camille Cottin), gallery owner and manipulator who will disrupt his concentration, his meeting with the locals will prove decisive for the fulfilment of his plan. Reality can be a bitch.