On a Friday morning, a caravan of trucks arrives in the French seaside town of
Rochefort, on the
Bay of Biscay, bringing the fair that will take place in the town square that Sunday. Étienne and Bill, two
carnival workers who sell motorcycles, bicycles, and boats, help set up, while, in an apartment, Delphine teaches ballet to a group of children and her
fraternal twin sister, Solange, accompanies the dancers on piano. The twins live in Rochefort, but long to find their ideal loves and move to Paris, Delphine to dance and Solange to compose. Yvonne, the mother of the twins, has a café in the town square. Among her regular customers is Maxence, a sailor who sees himself primarily as a painter and poet searching the world for his ideal woman. A painting he did of what he imagines this woman to look like is on display at the art gallery owned by Delphine's egotistical boyfriend, Guillaume Lancien, and Delphine sees it when she goes there to break off the relationship. As it looks remarkably like her, she wants to meet the artist, but Guillaume lies and tells her the painter just left for Paris. Delphine tells Solange about the artist and they decide to finally move to Paris. Solange goes to see Simon Dame at his music shop to ask him to arrange an introduction to his old friend, successful American composer Andy Miller, who is currently doing a series of recitals in Paris. While she is there, Simon tells her about his romantic past with a woman who bore his child, but left him because she could not stand his last name. He says he recently came back to Rochefort to open the shop because that is where he met the woman, though, as far as he knows, she is now in Mexico. Later, Yvonne tells Maxence the story of her relationship with the father of her young son, Booboo, indicating she regrets leaving the man just because she did not want to become "Madame Dame". When picking up Booboo from school, Solange bumps into a charming foreigner, and they are immediately smitten with each other. The man is Andy, who has come to Rochefort to visit Simon during a break in his tour, but he and Solange part without exchanging names. After she is gone, he notices she dropped the
sheet music for part of a
piano concerto that she had composed and picks it up. Étienne and Bill's girlfriends run away with a couple of sailors, which is hurtful both personally and professionally, since the women were supposed to dance at Étienne and Bill's stand at the fair to attract customers. Having gotten to know Yvonne, they think of asking her daughters to help them out, in exchange for a free ride to Paris. The twins perform at the fair to enthusiastic applause. Guillaume says he will make Delphine a star in Paris if she gets back together with him, but she turns him down. Simon tells Solange that Andy has agreed to meet her in Paris. Étienne and Bill say they love Delphine and Solange, but the twins rebuff them, though without losing their ride. On Monday morning, Simon comes by the twins' apartment. He tells Solange to go to his shop to see Andy, who is unexpectedly back in town for a short time, and agrees to pick up Booboo from school so she can do so. Maxence says goodbye to Yvonne at the café and then leaves for Paris to be an artist and continue to search for his ideal woman. After he leaves Delphine enters and, while bidding her mother farewell, mentions that a man named "Simon Dame" is getting Booboo. Yvonne leaves abruptly and reunites with Simon at Booboo's school. At the music shop, Solange finds Andy playing her concerto, and the pair dance and kiss. Delphine asks Étienne and Bill to wait for Solange, but it is past time to leave, so the group departs without her. Along the way, the fair caravan passes Maxence
hitchhiking, and Étienne stops to pick him up, finally bringing Delphine and Maxence together (though their meeting is not shown onscreen). ==Cast==