Thierry (Gérard Sandoz) drops out of school to apprentice as a lion tamer at the zoo when he meets Roselyne (Isabelle Pasco), who shares his passion. They fall in love and when he loses his job, the young lovers journey across France finding odd jobs at several circuses. In Germany, they fall under the tutelage of aging big cat trainer, Klint (Gunter Meisner), and while they are closer to realizing their dreams, they find that their success drives them apart.