16-year-old Ryna is the daughter of a poor Rumanian who runs a gas station in a small community on the Donau. Ryna has been brought up as a boy because her father had longed for a son. Zenide’s film is about strong family ties, about a daughter’s search for her mother, and about a despotic father slowly losing his grip, but also about poverty, social suppression and the abuse of power by those who rule under the guise of a false freedom. Ryna shows the awakening of a young girl’s soul and the pain that goes with it. Caught between traditional values and materialistic dreams, Ryna finally pays a high price in order to preserve her identity.