Paula, an elderly Holocaust survivor living in Tel Aviv, resists her only son's attempts to find her a live-in help. Yet, when a local priest introduces her to Valentina, a young Polish woman, she hires her immediately. Despite evidence that Valentina is not as innocent as she claims, Paula develops an emotional dependence on her, primarily because she shares a name with Paula's long lost childhood friend. Slowly the past and present blur as repressed memories of the Holocaust surface and overwhelm her. The complex relationship between the two women builds towards a shocking climax.