A woman is confronted with an unusual dilemma of faith in this period drama. After her grandfather loses the family fortune in an ill-advised business deal, Hanele (Lada Jelinkova) is forced to strike out on her own; the marriages of her two older sisters have used up the family's dowry, and Hanele is considered a poor choice for matrimony in the Ukrainian village of Polana, except by equally threadbare local lad Shlomo (Vaclav Jelinkova). Hanele travels to the city in hopes of finding work and is soon supporting herself as a seamstress. In addition to financial independence, Hanele also finds love with the intellectual Ivo Karadzic (Miroslav Noga). But Hanele dreams of returning to her home, and when she does, she learns that her family and friends are not as open-minded as she had hoped; Ivo is an outspoken atheist, and Hanele is forced to choose between the man she has come to love and the faith with which she was raised. Hanele is based on the story The Sad Eyes of Hana Karadzicova by Ivan Olbracht.