Leila who lives with her uncle in Amman, meets a boy named Kamal Hamdy who works in a pharmacy. One day, Kamal saves Leila's uncle from drowning in swimming pool. Some time later, Leila's uncle dies and gives his wealth to Kamal, but Raouf, Leila's cousin, who considers himself the heir, plans to kill Kamal by hiring two people.

The movie presented the tale of Filfil and Filfila, a young couple who are in love and wish to get married --- but Filfila's parents intend to marry their daughter to a wealthy man rather than let her become hitched to down-on-his-luck Filfil. At this point, Filfil enlists the services of a witch, Umm ul-Hiba, who transforms Filfila into a chimpanzee, while supplying Filfil with an antidote to her magic, which will return Filfila to her normal self. Although this initially proves successful, the witch is soon afterwards found dead --- and with her death, Filfila turns back into a chimp! The rest of the movie consists of Filfil and Filfila's quest to restore her human form, comprising visits to conjurers, soothsayers, alchemists, and others.

Drawing on the Arab heritage of oral tradition and mosaic pattern, Leila and the Wolves is an exploration of the collective memory of Arab women and their hidden role in history throughout the past half century both in Palestine and in Lebanon.