The true story of Irishwoman Maureen Kearney (Isabelle Huppert), the head union representative of Areva, a French multinational nuclear energy company with projects all over the world, who became a whistle-blower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector, is recounted in Jean-Paul Salomé’s gripping drama, based on the book La Syndicaliste by investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre. Steely in her resolve, yet isolated and vulnerable, Maureen was relentless in her fight against corrupt government ministers and industry leaders, bringing the scandal to light and defending the rights of more than 50,000 European workers. When she is violently assaulted in her own home, Maureen is treated with incredulity by the police, who ultimately accuse her of staging her own sexual assault, forcing her to defend herself at a humiliating trial.

Notes by David O’Mahony.