Herida Duro is the only child of Zef Duro. Because her Albanian family has no male heir, she is called Marijan and grows up dressed in male clothes as a boy. But among the men she remains an observer. The upheavals of the 20th century change life in Albania. From rural Lazarú, where the partisans are fighting, Herida makes her way to the capital Tirana, where she has to work hard with her friend Gjon. While Gjon boards a refugee ship to escape misery and censorship, Herida makes a career in the newly founded 'cinema studio', the national Albanian film production company, which is entirely controlled by the ruler Enver Hoxha. She goes into exile in Rome where she can freely do her own work. In Rome, she befriends the controversial director Paolo Piermonte and finds there the provocative material for her first independent film.