Nurse Nikolova takes care of the elderly. She faces various human destinies. Her patients spend the rest of their lives alone. They seek from her what they have not received from their own children. They love her. Nurse Nikolova touches on the complex problems of human existence.
The action takes place in a Bulgarian country family during the 30's of the 20th century. Forced by the fear that after the death of her son, her daughter-in-law could marry somebody else and could take part in sharing the heritage, the main character Mariola decides to kill her daughter-in-law.
