Barbara Auer, in one of her finest film roles, plays Ruth, a divorced mother trying to raise her school-aged daughter Sofia on her own while finishing her medical studies at the university. Nikos, her estranged husband kidnaps Sofia on the pretext that his wealthy Greek family can give the young girl a better home and education. So Ruth is driven to "kidnap" her daughter back. We learn rather early on that both parents are vain and conceited people, both belligerent in protesting their parental rights even while the measures they take are clearly above and beyond the law.