Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa boldly inflects contemporary melodrama with traditional storytelling modes in this potent, music-filled tale of one woman's tragedy and transcendence.

Awa, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, is happily living her teenage years alongside her twin brother Adama who dreams of Europe. When their grandmother dies, her aunt Fatou and her uncle Atoumane promise to marry in order to preserve the family union. But Fatou does not love Atoumane and the latter, tired of waiting to consummate his marriage, commits an act from which there is no going back.