Set in the late 1960s, the film explores the issues of immigration, community values and family devotion through the eyes of a young girl, Lucia, who is left behind with her grandmother while her parents emigrate to France to find work. Lucia pains to be with her family as she struggles to learn her role in the tiny, traditional village under the watchful guidance of her stern grandmother.

Set against the backdrop of 20th-century Sicily, the sicilian storyteller chronicles the tumultuous life of Rosa Balistreri, a legendary figure in Sicilian folk music.