Alina, a Belarusian woman living in Italy, contends daily with hostile, racist attitudes and behaviour, like the man on the bus who refuses to let her sit next to him. Having left her elderly mother back in her country and fled a violent husband, who has since died, she is constantly blackmailed by Loris, a pimp who demands large sums in exchange for her freedom. Along the way, however, she also encounters people who help her, such as a couple of restaurateurs, Sor Mario and Sora Cesira, who offer her board and lodging in exchange for a hand in the kitchen. At last, she seems to have found a financially satisfactory job: Giuliano, the enigmatic and disquieting owner of Villa Baldassarre, asks her to work as a carer for his beloved mother, who is taciturn and never moves.