Plot

A look at terrorism in Algeria through the eyes of Rachida, a teacher in one of the school districts.

Rachida (Ibtissem Djouadi) is a teacher in Algiers during the time of the terrorist activities in the 1990s. She is followed by some young men who observe her going through her daily routine, from work, to home, riding the cable car in Algiers, etc. One day they confront her. She knows one of them and they demand that she take a bomb to school with her. When she refuses, they shoot her in the abdomen. She is taken to the hospital where she recovers. The director of her school arranges for her to transfer to a village where she won't be recognized.

Arriving in the village, she keeps to herself and is afraid to go outside. Her mother encourages her to rejoin society as two women who never go out will gather more attention than would going about their daily routines. Her first day out, she buys some groceries and sees one of the local terrorists who is also shopping. When she sees his gun, she panics and returns home walking very quickly. She is very shaken up and her mother is concerned.

As she and her mother become more integrated into society, they learn about what has been going on from other women, for example that the children at their neighbor's house are not theirs, rather their parents are involved in terrorism and the children have been left.

As a wedding approaches for the neighbor, Rachida and her mother return to Algiers to see the doctor and find out how the healing process is going. On the way to Algiers, they witness a road block where many terrorists are taking people out of their cars and vans and lining them up against the hillside. One of the vehicles appears to be a police van. Arriving in Algiers, the doctor says she is healing well. Rachida spends a day with a friend swimming and relaxing at last. It is clear that they are in love, yet they do not express it romantically. Rachida and her mother pack some clothes from Algiers for the wedding and they return to the village.

Shortly after, a woman who had been kidnapped by the terrorists comes running back into the village. Her face is cut; her dress is torn and she has been raped and traumatized. Men try to assist her when she sits on the ground, but she is too afraid to let them come near her. Women approach her and cover her with their scarves. Her father is ashamed of her presence and does not want to accept her back into the household. He says that she is no longer his daughter; her sister, however, says that she is still her sister and stands up to her father. She is pregnant and is pushed to the fringes of society.

Meanwhile, the bride (Amel Choukh), who is in love with a young man (Zaki Boulenafed) from the village, is preparing to marry. The young man is also in love with her and is very persistent and the father continues to threaten to kill him if he ever comes near his daughter. The wedding is in progress when the terrorists return. The father runs into the midst and stops the festivities. Everyone runs screaming from the party, trying to get away from the terrorists without being hurt. Rachida takes the baby that was left by everyone as it was not anyone's baby. She runs and tries to keep the baby quiet. The terrorists kidnap the bride and talk about how they are going to keep the pretty ones as "part of the booty" then mention Rachida as someone they are seeking.

In the morning, the village is full of people mourning the dead. The funerals proceed in the village, which has nearly been destroyed, if not physically, in spirit, by the attacks. Rachida cries at home and then gets up, walks outside and goes to the school. Many children follow her to the school building, as they have done before.

When they all get to the school, it has been ransacked. The desks are askew and the books have been thrown around. She searches for a piece of chalk and a student gives her one from his school bag. She turns to write "today's lesson" on the board and, crying, she looks straight into the camera and the credits roll. It is a moving ending which leaves viewers thinking of "the lesson."