The poor father of 16 year old Ryna is responsible for a petrol station, which also functions as a garage when needed, in a small Romanian village. He raises her as a boy since her childhood, as he cannot let go of his yearning for a boy and needs working hands in the garage. Poverty, social depression and exploitation relations between East and West are the background for Ruxandra Zenide's film, which deals with tangled family relations, the longing of a daughter for contact with her mother and a tyrant father who gradually loses grip. Ryna's growing up story is filled with pain, as she tries to discover herself emotionally and sexually. She is trapped between traditional values and unrealistic dreams, and needs to pay a high price in order to preserve her identity.