In the brutal world of a French prison, a young man's education becomes a matter of survival in this gripping drama from acclaimed director Jacques Audiard. Tahar Rahim stars as Malik El Djebena, a nineteen-year-old illiterate inmate sentenced to six years. Vulnerable and alone, he is soon taken under the wing of the feared Corsican mob boss César Luciani, played with chilling intensity by Niels Arestrup. In exchange for protection, Malik becomes a pawn in a dangerous game, carrying out César's orders and navigating the prison's volatile ethnic hierarchies. As Malik learns to read and gains cunning, he begins to forge his own alliances and power, transforming from a naive outsider into a formidable player. This tense and atmospheric crime saga explores the complex bonds of mentorship and betrayal, charting one man's perilous journey to find his own strength and identity within a system designed to break him.