The story largely centers on a grandfather who finds himself deeply depressed by the dramatic downward turns Bulgarian society has taken. The changes of the past half century have created a deep communications gap between generations and he is unable to communicate with his troubled son. Nor is the old man able to do much to help his grandson who is making his first forays into criminal life, blaming it all on his mother who admits she is incapable of loving him. The grandfather tires of life with the bleak family and so goes to an old folks home. But that proves repressive, so he and a couple of friends leave to enact a money-making scheme. When that fails, the old man finds himself alone and destitute on the rough streets of Sofia where his despairing eyes witness the further ruination of his homeland.

There is a small frontier post. A soldier abiding by the rules of the system gradually turns into a murderer.

Rufie is a fifteen-year old girl who lives with her grandmother in a mountain village. Her father, Hairedin, has gone to look for work in Turkey, because of the unemployment at home. There has been no word from him for the past three years. Even Rufie's closest relatives begin to say that he has forgotten about her and will not come home. Sympathy for her and silent reproach toward her father makes her to feel isolated and lonely. She decides to cross the border illegally and find her father and prove to everyone that they love each other. Her efforts to get money to pay the smuggler to get her over the border are a supreme trial for her. Overcoming many dangers, Rufie makes a most difficult decision; she cuts off her hair and pretends to be a boy, in order to be accepted in the group. During the difficult winter crossing over the mountains, she meets a boy - the same age as her. He is with his father. Rufie experiences the first tremors of love, but cannot share them since she is a '...