Lebanon, 1950. Emilie and her brother Emir abandon the arid mountains of their homeland and head for the Brazilian Amazon region in search of better days. They take with them their sole possession and heirloom – a large wooden grandfather clock in which Emilie hides her secrets. They make their way to the port city of Trieste where they wait for a ship leaving for Brazil. While there, Emir falls in love with a local prostitute and doesn’t want to continue, but Emilie manages to convince him otherwise. The brother and sister disembark in cosmopolitan Manaus –  a city known for the pacific cohabitation of individuals from all nationalities and creeds. It is in this effervescent milieu that Emilie defies the catholic traditions of the Lebanese community and falls in love with Abbas, a Muslim storeowner with whom she settles down and builds a new family. The movie relates the saga of this family, its trials and tribulations, hopes, joys, tragedies and disillusions as seen revolving around Emilie: an enigmatic woman who believed love was the only weapon she had in which to overcome cultural differences.