The writer Louis Gardel remembers his youth in Algeria.  In 1955, Louis is 15 years old and lives with his grandmother Zoé.  Zoé is friend with president Steiger, leader of the French settlers but also with the old Arab Bouarab.  One night looking at the Bay of Algiers, Louis is convinced that the world in which he has grown will disappear.  The first events of the War of Independence have begun.  The young boys and young girls have a good time at the seaside: swimming, dancing, flirting.  But, little by little, the war becomes part of their daily life.