A handsome 17-year-old who is actually only 14, Lionel is an adopted child living in a rural area. While his father sees him as deficient, even retarded, his mother surrounds him with immense, symbiotic, and protective love. Initially fascinated by the boy's charm, Claire, a young engineer from the neighboring construction site, helps him pursue a budding passion. But by not respecting the limits she has set for him, Lionel finds himself caught in a trap that closes in on him.