Hotel du Nord 1938 On the mournful bank of the meandering Canal St Martin, at the cheap Parisian Hotel du Nord, the dejected young lovers, Pierre and Renee, take a room, bent on fulfilling an unholy pact Then, in the dead of night, a nearly fatal gunshot chills the bone to the marrow, splitting the couple, apparently, forever However amid a sad but beautiful panorama of streetwise prostitutes hard as nails procurers in impeccable suits forlorn survivors murderous former companions, and the police unfulfilled desires, secret passions, and a dangerous romantic triangle have the final say Now, in loves name, high expectations for a fresh start and a deadly semi automatic pistol separate hope from despair Can life be as easy as a fairy tale