Before the Liberation, during the years of the exiled Bulgarian revolutionaries in Romania, the Major and the Prime Minister once shared the same ideals, the same home, and even the same woman. Today, the Major orchestrates a conspiracy to overthrow the government led by his former friend, the Prime Minister. The head of state must be assassinated, and the Prince – dethroned. The woman is part of the plot, but she will try to prevent the fratricide.
Alexander returns to Bulgaria from Denmark for his mother's funeral. Instead of confronting his estranged relatives, he embarks on a journey across Sofia with his sister, Kalina. Together, they wander through the city, possibly in search of their long-absent father. Along the way, through chance encounters with old friends and visits to cherished spots from their past, the siblings rediscover the closeness they once shared.
The story follows the encounters of Victor and Tanya at the end of their junior year. The two of them grow closer and closer during the summer vacation, despite the danger surrounding them.
A couple and their teenage son eke out a living on a hilltop, doing the laundry for local hotels, despite the intermittent water supply. Their simple life is overturned by the arrival of a father-and-daughter team of diviner and well-digger, who promise to bring an end to this precarious existence by finding a source on their arid hill. But ultimately, these newcomers quench a thirst far greater than than the simple need for water.