Perrine journeys across Europe with her mother, a photographer, in a cart drawn by a donkey, bound for a small village in northern France where her late father grew up. She does not know they will not be welcome there: her father fell out with his own father, left home, and married in India against his wishes. When her mother becomes ill, Perrine has to sell everything they own, even her cherished donkey Palikare, to buy medicine. Her mother dies in Paris, but first she urges Perrine to win her grandfather's love before he learns who she is. After a hard road, Perrine reaches the village and discovers that her grandfather is the wealthy owner of the factory that employs the villagers. Using a false name, she takes a job there and looks for a way into his heart. This film is a drama and slice of life story condensed from the Perrine Monogatari TV series, which adapts Hector Malot's novel En Famille.