January 1942, in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. Thousands of Jews have been confined to the Warsaw ghetto for more than a year. Outside, life goes on; inside, they struggle to survive another day. Still, on a cold winter night, a group of Jewish actors manage to stage a lively musical comedy.

The mother of ten-year-old Martina turns up late, just when the little girl is about to give up hope they might spend the afternoon together. As they have an amazing chemistry, she really wants to have her mum to herself, but all too soon she realises that her mother has not beaten her drug addiction and Martina finds herself in a hard situation yet again...