In a snow-covered village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa watches as her father is abducted by Russian soldiers. Their neighbor Akhmed takes Havaa to the bombed-out hospital of Sonja Rabina. Sonja has no desire to take on more responsibility and risk -- there's someone of her own whose return she doesn't want to jeopardize. But over the course of five extraordinary days, Sonja's world will shift on its axis.