Plot

A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.

Forty-six year old Diane Després - "Die" - has been widowed for three years. Considered white trash by many, Die does whatever she needs, including strutting her body in front of male employers who will look, to make an honest living. That bread-winning ability is affected when she makes the decision to remove her only offspring, fifteen year old Steve Després, from her previously imposed institutionalization, one step below juvenile detention. She institutionalized him shortly following her husband's death due to Steve's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and his violent outbursts. He was just kicked out of the latest in a long line of facilities for setting fire to the cafeteria, in turn injuring another boy. She made this decision to deinstitutionalize him as she didn't like the alternative, sending him into more restrictive juvenile detention from which he would probably never be rehabilitated. However, with this deinstitutionalization, she has to take care of him which means only being able to do home based work. Despite they always yelling expletives at each other and Steve sometimes demonstrating those violent tendencies toward her, Die and Steve truly do love each other, his emotions which are sometimes manifested as an Oedipus complex especially as he seems to need her complete attention most specifically when it is being directed at possible male suitors. Their lives, both individually and as a family, are affected with the entrance of two of their neighbors. The first is Paul, a lawyer, who does have that sexual interest in Die as he tries to help Steve through his legal problems. The second and more important is Kyla, who lives across the street with her husband Patrick and their adolescent daughter, they who are in transit in their life to wherever Patrick's job will take them. Kyla is a high school teacher on sabbatical as she deals with her own emotional issues, which are manifested in stuttering whenever she feels incapable of dealing with her life. Kyla may find that she needs the Després as much as they need her.—Huggo

In a fictional outcome for the 2015 Canadian federal election, a political party comes to power and establishes a law called S-14, allowing parents of troubled children and limited finances to place their children in hospitals, without regard for fundamental justice.

After the law is passed, Diane "Die" Després, a widowed mother and 46-year-old journalist, picks up her son Steve, who has ADHD with violent tendencies, from an institution, in the aftermath of Steve starting a fire in which another youth was injured. Die brings Steve to their new home in Saint-Hubert and struggles to care for him under financial distress. When Steve gives her a cart full of groceries and a necklace reading "Mommy", Die suspects that he has stolen the latter. Enraged by the accusation, Steve begins choking her, and she defends herself by hitting him with a glass frame. Whilst chaos ensues, Kyla, a neighbor and teacher on sabbatical, shows up to tend to their wounds.

Kyla, who is dealing with a stuttering problem, begins to tutor Steve. After a disastrous tutoring session where Steve berates Kyla, she snaps and attacks him. After the confrontation, Steve mellows and indicates he is glad to know her and respects her wishes not to call her "babe". Although the three have bonded and their situation seems to improve, Die is served papers by the parents of the injured boy, indicating she and Steve are being sued for the injuries caused by his fire.

Die finds a lawyer willing to help them and the three of them go out for the evening for something to eat. They end up at a karaoke bar, where Steve is increasingly agitated by the atmosphere and what he sees as his mother's sexual interest in the lawyer. Steve decides to sing, but is taunted by the audience, leading to a fight. Steve, Die and their lawyer argue, ending with Die slapping the lawyer in retaliation for slapping Steve, driving the lawyer away.

Die continues to try and help her son and rebuild their lives, but while out shopping, with Steve and Kyla, Steve disappears and slits his wrist. Although he survives, Die later finds herself reflecting on all the dreams she had for her son to live a fulfilled, happy life. She finally drives to a hospital to commit him under S-14; Steve angrily resists, and she begins to regret the decision when she helplessly watches the officials use violence and tasers to subdue him.

Kyla announces she is moving to Toronto and Die encourages her, expressing hope for Steve, but after Kyla makes a faux-pas about 'abandoning her family', Die privately breaks down in tears. Back at the hospital, Steve is being unstrapped from a straitjacket by officials. Immediately after the straps are removed, Steve flees, running towards a large window.