The story revolves around Balint, a Hungarian obstetrician and soon-to-be father, who returns to his native village in north-eastern Romania to face the son he abandoned 17 years ago.
A story of children who feel safer in the streets than at home, about children seeking out sturdy lifeboats that cross between the world of fantasy and the harsh reality of life. Jarka is one of these children. Ten years-old, and living with a mother who is not yet ready to be a mom, Jarka spends most of her time alone. Pushed by her desire for love and to form a fully functional family, she finds herself substituting a "mother" to two babies.
Peter falls in love with Lena, a Bulgarian female student in the days of the 1956 revolution. They were both involved in the events of the Revolution, enthusiastically recount their experiences of an American journalist. The boy's parents leave the country, but he did not go with them.
Miklos, a magazine photographer, has a hard time finding the girl of his dreams. But in the summer of 1992 in Budapest, he meets Dora at a club and feels a strange attraction to her. But he feels no compulsion in pursuing the relationship. They meet more by chance than by design.
Miklos, a magazine photographer, has a hard time finding the girl of his dreams. But in the summer of 1992 in Budapest, he meets Dora at a club and feels a strange attraction to her. But he feels no compulsion in pursuing the relationship. They meet more by chance than by design.