June 1941. Preparations for the wedding of a butcher’s son and a rabbi’s daughter are in full swing in a Jewish shtetl in the Lviv Region. The intrigue of this seemingly ordinary event is that Yuna – the bride – loves another man and he, Mendele… plans to kidnap her. At this very time, a Nazi death squad is approaching the shtetl.

Rona insists upon returning a giant cactus from her home to the nursery - where she comes across an unexpected encounter.