Fifteen years after surviving Auschwitz, Helene, Lili and Rose are reunited on holiday in the North of France. Savoring ice cream cones, trying on bikinis, swimming in the sea, the women resume their friendship, with occasional disagreements about what they remember. Despite high spirits, a romantic adventure for Hélène and Rose’s insistence that they not talk about the camps, remnants of the war seep into everyday life. Based on the true story of the director’s mother, these women — their marriages, affairs and challenges to define themselves — form the heart of À La Vie.