Set during a recent European revolution, when the students have just begun to rise, the film focuses on the unusual relationship between Dr. Daniel Pavenic (Sir Michael Gambon) and his housekeeper, Ana Puscasu (Sônia Braga). In the midst of a night alive with the rattle of gunfire and burning buildings, the doctor tells the story of his obsession for his enigmatic housekeeper, to a dinner table of his guests. His shocking honesty eventually prompts each guest in turn, to disclose some inner corner of his own life.