Plot

A translator working for the police gets involved in the other side of drug dealing.

Based on the novel by Hannelore Cayre, the story centers around Patience Portefeux (Isabelle Huppert), an underpaid, overworked French-Arabic translator in charge of phone surveillance for a narcotics police unit. When she realizes she knows the mother of one of the drug dealers, Patience decides to cover for him and gets herself more and more deeply involved in the world of drug trafficking. Soon, she is using her insider knowledge and police resources to build her own crime network and earns the name Mama Weed.

Specialised in the fine art of telephone tapping for the Parisian anti-narcotics unit, Patience Portefeux (Isabelle Huppert), a disillusioned, financially hard-pressed French-Arabic police interpreter, is in for a big surprise. When Patience makes an unexpected and equally shocking discovery, a mountain of premium-grade hash disappears right under the nose of Chief Philippe (Hippolyte Girardot), and just like that, elegant Paris has a new drug queen. Now, with her extensive insider knowledge and expertise on the subject, Patience will never have to worry about bills. However, what good is money when freedom is at stake?—Nick Riganas