Tanya lives under the harsh rule of her mother-in-law, Zinaida Nikitishna, after her husband Andrey left her. Exhausted and trapped in endless farm work, Tanya reluctantly goes mushroom picking with Zinaida. Lost in the dark forest, she finds a frightened little girl named Masha, who got lost trying to scare her father, a local gamekeeper. Tanya spends the night caring for Masha and is later welcomed warmly by Masha’s father, Yura. This brief kindness makes Tanya realize she deserves better, and she decides to leave Zinaida’s oppressive home to start a new life. When she returns, she boldly says goodbye and walks away from her old life.
