The film opens in 2020. A woman paints her lips crimson while staring at her reflection in the mirror, studying the details of her wavy blonde wig and firetruck-red skirt. Satisfied with her examination, she relaxes her shoulders and turns to the other side of the room. The camera follows and lands on a child sleeping peacefully.
The woman covers the slumbering body with a blanket, gingerly plants a kiss and leaves. Outside, in the dimly lit streets of Dakar, she is followed by a chorus of men wearing complementary red djellabas. “When a drop of water falls on Earth / it’s no longer Earth,” they sing as she walks down the street, “How life is full of surprises.”