When Valentine (Audrey Tautou), a young woman from a wealthy family, marries Jules (Arnaud Valois), the 19th century is ending. As the years pass, she experiences both the joys of motherhood and the heartbreak of losing loved ones. Her daughter Mathilde (Mélanie Laurent) and later her granddaughter Gabrielle (Bérénice Bejo) continue the cycle, navigating their own marriages and families, as the film delicately portrays their lives over a hundred-year period.