Russia, 1919 – the civil war. Winter nights are long and lightless. The Makinski children do not have any news of their father, an active member of the counter-revolutionary army. They survive thanks to the pugnacity of their older sister, Irène, a fifteen-year-old who, despite her age, is taking care of the whole family. She has grown obsessed at finding food and work, to the point where she has no time for nostalgia, empathy, the family’s past life and its codes and religion, or for telling tales and legends that the younger ones are asking for. One day in the village, a rumor grows alleging that their father is back, and that he is hiding in the dark to watch over his children…