It is the period just after the cessation of hostilities in World War II, and young Etel and Dani, who are brother and sister, are enjoying a moment of tranquility in the open area near their home, which is just inside the border of Yugoslavia. Out of nowhere a group of Russian soldiers appear, holding Dani while they rape his sister. Curiously, it is Dani who later appears to be the most changed: Etel occupies herself with the child of her rape. During this time, the new communist government of Yugoslavia is engaging in some social engineering: a Serbian family has moved in next to them (they are of Hungarian extraction) and there is immediate dislike between the two families. This does not make the budding romance between a young man from the Serbian family and Etel any easier, any more than the government's so-called "agrarian reform" measures make is easy for farmers to survive.
by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
