On the marketplace of a Malian village, a young "Garibou" named Baillo begs every day on behalf of his caretaker, the Moualim. In the evening, the Moualim imposes terror over Baillo and the other children of the Koranic school. To escape this tyranny, Baillo takes refuge in his imagination. But when his barely 6 years old brother Sékou is placed with the Moualim, nothing can turn him away from the unbearable reality of their condition...