The sun rises over the smokestacks and church steeples of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve — a working-class neighbourhood in the east end of Montreal hovering on the edge of gentrification. The service industry has replaced manufacturing, welfare has replaced wages, and the cinema and television screen have replaced the church. Before this particular day is through, we will have witnessed this social shift mirrored in the personal crises weathered by a handful of local folk who are being cast helplessly and hopelessly adrift. Father Yan, a 50-ish parish priest, starts his day with a new message to deliver and a growing anxiety as to whether there is anybody out there with whom to share it. Meanwhile, Melanie sees her troubled young life staring her in the face from her bathroom mirror — a reflection that stalks her grim day of work in the fruit and vegetable store. Grace, a struggling performance artist, awakens to another aimless day. Al McDonald, a predatory real-estate developer, swoops down upon the unsuspecting neighbourhood, barely ready for his encounter with the enigmatic Izzy that will turn his day upside down. Jeff Fisher, a functional artist who doesn’t fit, rescues riches from the back alleys. Each one of these strangers succeeds in kindling a flicker of hope that might just make this life worth living, little knowing how close they are to others who share the thoughts and feelings that have made their day.