It is impossible to live between Doria and her diplomatic husband, Medhat, who asks him for a divorce, but he refuses. She is forced to go to court and file a divorce. Doria falls into the maze of the courts and is exposed to a series of problems and obstacles that undermine her dignity. Things get complicated when the husband comes with false witnesses testifying against her in secret. She loses her case after more than four years.

The film describes the political and economical corruption in 70s’ Egypt, through the relationship between a powerful man and his wife’s ex-fiance.

Set against the backdrop of the 1967 Six-Day War, the movie adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz's novel follows the escapist, drug-fueled riverboat meetings of a group of frustrated Egyptians from various walks of life.

Mahgoub is a villager who moves to Cairo in search of a better life. When he enlists friend Salem's help to find him a job, Salem not only gets him a job at the ministry where he works but he finds him a bride as well. But the bride is the mistress of Qasem Bek, who will be visiting her once a week.