The freezing environment of a depopulated Chechen village during the harsh winter months is in stark contrast to the warmth of a traditional, Slavic, country home where a mother lives with her daughter and tabby cat. Everyday activities and simple rituals like embroidering, watching television, or shelling sunflower seeds can easily be disrupted by the unexpected arrival of a former resident who returns to her native village after a long period of absence. This aesthetically pleasing and captivating film calmly introduces the viewer to the simple life of Chechen peasants, acting as a melancholic suspension of modern, hectic times that have hardly affected the protagonists in the film.