Memory plot
Six-year-old Vladlena moves from Crimea to Grozny after her parents' divorce, unaware that war will soon destroy her childhood. As the Soviet Union collapses, the Chechen Republic disintegrates. Her Russian-speaking friends flee, while deported Chechens return and reclaim their homeland. Tensions escalate, and armed conflict erupts. Violence ravages the city—neighbors are murdered, her family is attacked, and Grozny becomes a battlefield. After four years of war, her mother is seriously injured, and an armed attack forces Vladlena to flee, leaving her displaced within Russia.