In a small Albanian town, in a model community emerging from the communist era, the girl Lodja Lemani views the world from the kitchen window of her small family home. She is not allowed to play outside with other children, does not stroll about, elegantly dressed like her friends, during the longed-for evening outings. She spends her free time only in the small courtyard of her parents' house. At night, a male shadow, dark and frightening, sits on the edge of her bed. The Lemani family lives in isolation because they have a "dark biography." Lodja's grandfather was lynched in 1952 by the new authorities before the eyes of his daughter. This is not spoken about in the family. For Lodja, everything is opaque and mysterious. After the communist era and the end of Albania's self-isolation, Lodja leaves her country and lives alone as a young woman.