Maddalena Braico, an eighteen year old girl who dreams of becoming a painter, watches her plans being tossed by the arrival of World War II in her village, Canfanaro, in Istria. Tito’s supporters force her family to run away after a firefight that leaves her brother Niccolò injured. Taken shelter in Friuli where her uncle Giorgio lives, they have to start again. Antonio, Maddalena’s father, a doctor, takes less qualifying jobs in order to sustain the family. Maddalena, bullied in school because of her Istrian origins, finds solace in Leo, a young boy who’s an art lover just like her. Despite her father’s wish for her to follow a more traditional path, her bound with Leo grows deeper, but it’s challenged by their need to move out again. Maddalena, wrecked by the separation, gives up on her artistic dreams and leaves with her family. However, the chance encounter with Leo after the end of the war reignites their passion and they decide to move in Padova to cultivate their art.