Fourteen-year-old Jeanne has lived in a farm commune since she was two years old. Her mother and father live in city communes and rarely visit. This is one of the commandments given by Otto, who rules the commune: children are to grow up without parents. Knowing nothing else, Jeanne enjoys her outdoor life, surrounded by lots of other children, until she falls in love with 16-year-old Jean and her childhood paradise begins to fall apart.

Clara and Hans are left-wing terrorists who have been sought by police for almost fifteen years. Their increasingly rebellious daughter Jeanne begins to pose a threat to their security when she falls in love with a boy she meets on the beach.