Vinland is the story of an exceptional teacher in a boys’ college in eastern Quebec in the late 1940s. Adored by his students, but regarded as too disturbing by the superiors of his congregation, the charismatic Brother Jean is a progressive harbinger of the changes that were to come in Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s. Wanting to at once solve a historical enigma, motivate his students and prevent the dropout of Émile, a student in difficulty, Brother Jean undertakes to lead archaeological excavations aimed at proving the establishment of a Viking colony (Vinland) on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. The venture turns school life upside down and leaves its mark on the fates of young Émile – and Brother Jean himself.