This tells the story of Duka and her young friend Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. For Hamar girls, marriage means huge sacrifices and is full of longing, sadness and excitement. The film follows the build-up to the marriages, from the all night vigil with her girlfriends, to her farewells when she is taken away at dawn to the village of her husband's family. The new mother-in-law shaves the bride's hair, butters her body and prepares her for the first traumatic weeks in a new home.