Sometimes pain opens the soul.

Fourteen-year old Irina Kotova’s life as a promising violinist collapses in sync with the demise of the Soviet Union. After her father is killed in a bar fight, her ailing mother is hauled of to jail without explanation. Now considered an orphan, Irina is forced to live in a boarding school where Russia’s throw- away kids are abandoned and forgotten.

Irina is constantly tormented by Vadim Solokov, a mean-spirited hooligan who takes great pleasure in reminding her that nobody cares about them. Irina is convinced he is right, and the not-so-mysterious theft of her precious violin seals her resolve to escape the school or die trying. Will she find a place to belong before bitterness destroys all her dreams?