Catherine Frot stars as the eponymous midwife in this French drama written and directed by Martin Provost. The stable life of midwife Claire Breton (Frot) is thrown into turmoil by the sudden reappearance of her late father's former lover Béatrice Sobolevski (Catherine Deneuve), who abandoned Claire and her dad over three decades earlier. Having left abruptly when Claire was a child, Béatrice is shocked to learn of her former partner's passing. However, she has a revelation of her own when she announces she has brain cancer and she has contacted Claire in the hope of reconnecting with the happier times of her life which she shared with her father. Reluctant to let Béatrice back into her life again, Claire's sympathy for her plight overrides her lingering hostilities and the pair begin to reacquaint themselves, leading them to re-evaluate their contrasting outlooks on life.