Ted, his girlfriend Jo, and his brother Johnny are small-time robbers in Montreal. The brothers spend their time watching TV, while Jo rereads Leonard Cohen's novel "Beautiful Losers" and attends writing classes. Luka, a Czech immigrant, picks up Jo when he sees her shoplifting. When Johnny surprises Luka kissing Jo, he attacks him. In the ensuing fight Jo accidentally kills Johnny, and Luka leaves the scene, but drops his wallet. The police assume that Luka attacked Johnny after a break-in and Jo goes along with that, but feels guilty about it.