A young orphan, Aïcha, is found alone in the forests of central Morocco. She has a personal history that reveals a courageous attempt at self-determination. Taken and sold from her home in the hills of the Atlas Mountains, Aïcha finds herself at the mercy of a petty criminal, Abbas, and his conflicted girlfriend, Nadia. They soon cross paths with Zacaria, a Moroccan/Iraqi writer, who has left everything behind - including a passionate relationship with a teacher, Judith - to search for his missing brother. The group embarks on a journey that will lead them across Morocco, to Istanbul, the plains of Kurdistan and beyond.

It is a simple love story about Hiyam, a young factory girl, who lives in a poor neighborhood with her mother, stepfather and young sister who works with her at the same factory. Hiyam falls in love with the new factory supervisor, believing that he loves her too. Eventually, Hiyam is shocked by his changing attitude towards her, refusing their relationship since she belongs to a lower working class, while he is from a middle-class. Her strength appears when a pregnancy test is discovered in the factory premises; her immediate family and close friends accuse her of sinning. Hiyam decides not to defend herself and pays an enormous price in a society that fails to accept independent women.