In a small village in Eastern Hungary, Jóska is on his way home from the pub. Behind Jóska's back, Mari, his spinster sister, sends love-letters in his name to Yelizaveta, the daughter of an Ukrainian family they know. She thinks Yelizaveta will agree to marry him, hoping for a better life in Hungary. Yelizaveta works in a brick factory in Beregszász. Now she is waiting for Jóska at the train station of the small Ukrainian town. The morning after, an Ukrainian truck takes Yelizaveta and her stuff to Hungary. Jóska, still dead drunk, is placed on the platform of the truck. They arrive at the small farm in Hungary. The Ukrainian driver asks Yelizaveta: "Sure you want to stay here?" Her answer is definite: "I am going to live here." She dreams of learning Hungarian and of starting to work. She soon gets pregnant, however, and has problems communicating with the local people. Standing on a ladder, she paints the pigeon-house in the yard, though her belly is huge already. When Jóska comes home, he pulls the ladder from underneath his pregnant wife. A daughter, Anyochka, is born. Jóska's sister tries to make the baby her own. Yelizaveta works even longer hours, but noone seems to be satisfied with her. Jóska drinks excessively and has jealous fits, not even letting his wife go to the shop alone. Yelizaveta can't stand it any longer. She can't walk back to Ukraine with her daughter, since the little girl does not have a passport...