The Gilded Cage

For thirty years now Maria and José Ribeiro have been living on the ground floor of a Haussmannian building in one of the most exclusive districts of Paris. Everybody loves this nice couple of Portuguese immigrants, Mario for being a topnotch caretaker, José, a construction site supervisor by trade, for helping to do all kinds of jobs in the house. So, the day Maria and José announce their wish to return to Portugal, everybody is crushed. No, they just can't let them do a thing like that...!—Guy Bellinger