XVII century, Bulgaria is under Ottoman rule. Four men break into the house of the shepherd Karaivan, raping and killing his wife in full view of their child, Maria. To protect his daughter and to enact revenge, he raises Maria as a son, teaching her to fight and kill. But as Maria grows up, she longs for a different life.
This is a film about a traveling theatrical group in the beginning of 20th century. The itinerant troupe arrives in the little town, comprising several families, an eccentric student, an anarchist, all united by their love for theatre. The theatricals of 'Othello' are pending. All of a sudden, the performer of Desdemona falls ill. The local woman teacher plays in her stead. She makes a success and joins the troupe. The young woman travels with them along the dusty country roads and never gives up. Step by step she becomes a very good actress and assumes the leading of the group through its complex life. United by their common fate, the actors go through the joys and disappointments of their pioneering educative mission together.
A lawyer must decide whether to help a young man.
