Despite being in love with a Ukrainian boy from the same village, Polish girl named Zosia is forced into marrying a wealthy widower. Soon World War II begins and ethnic tensions arise. Amidst the war chaos Zosia tries to survive.
Follows three people whose paths cross during a terrible time of war: Olga, a Russian aristocratic emigrant and member of the French Resistance; Jules, a French collaborator; and Helmut, a high-ranking German SS officer.
Contemporary Russia. A high school student becomes convinced that the world has been lost to evil, and begins to challenge the morals and beliefs of the adults around him.