Plot

1949. Brother Jean, a progressive teacher and passionate amateur archaeologist, plans to conduct excavations with his students in order to prove the presence of a Viking settlement along the shores of the St-Lawrence River.

Winter 1949. An exceptional teacher, highly devoted to the development of his students, Brother Jean has long been the figurehead of a school for boys in Charlevoix, Québec. Adulated by the young students and supported by the school's director, Brother Jean exercises a broad leadership and isn't hesitant to employ unusual educational methods (borrowed from theatre, cinema, scientific research...) to bolster his teaching. A passionate amateur archaeologist, Brother Jean advances a theory that Vikings were established a thousand years earlier along the coast of the St. Lawrence River - the famous Vinland of Norwegian sagas. Although the higher ranks of the congregation sometimes find his methods a tad too inventive, his noticeable success with the young people has earned him the freedom to conduct his research as he pleases. But the arrival of a new student - Émile, a troubled 13-year-old - soon upsets the delicate arrangement. Determined to convince his superiors that he can prevent the boy from dropping out of school, Jean embarks on this new mission with great ardor, even as he redoubles his quest for evidence of the Vikings' passage, all this in spite of increasing opposition from the congregation's senior administration. These disruptions will have serious consequences for Jean and young Emile.