Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery – with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin – manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

Set in 1958, Populaire focuses on Rose Pamphyle, who lives with her widowed father and is destined to marry a son of the local mechanic. Rose travels out of town and applies for a secretarial job with an insurance agency run by Louis Échard. Louis learns that Rose can type with extraordinary speed — using only two fingers — and he tells her to compete in a speed-typing competition if she wants the job.

What go around comes around for a pair of prank-playing tire salesmen who find themselves placed in secretarial jobs by their put-upon boss.