Sfax. Fatma is seventeen. Her mother is dead. In her house live her father, her brothers and sisters, as well as a maie cousin, Taher, who is staying with them for a while. One night, Taher rapes her. Life goes on… Yet Fatma only dreams about going far away, to study in Tunis.
Tunis. Fatma meets Mourad. She ends up falling for him and, one night, she makes love with him. Fatma passes her exams.
However, she decides to leave again. She walks out on Mourad and puts an end to her studies.
Zannouch. Fatma gets her father to take her to this remote village to work as a school teacher. Aziz, a young doctor, suddenly turns up. It’s love at first sight. Fatma and Aziz get married. But just before their wedding night, Fatma wants to have her maidenhead stitched up. The doctor thinks it’s a simple operation which only requires three stitches. On the outside, Fatma and Aziz are a perfect couple. Yet Fatma is still not happy….