Amidst the terrors of war-torn post-revolutionary Tehran in the 1980s, former medical student Shideh is barred from resuming her studies because of her involvement with student leftist groups. Upon returning home, she gets rid of most of her old medical textbooks, but keeps Arthur Guyton#Textbook of medical physiology given to her by her deceased mother. The war intensifying, Shideh elects to stay in the city with her daughter Dorsa despite the protests of her husband Iraj, a doctor who is called by the military and assigned to an area of heavy fighting. Iraj wants Shideh to stay with his parents in a safer part of the country, but Shideh refuses. Dorsa is upset to see her father go, and Iraj promises her that her favorite doll, Kimia, will protect her.