The story is set in provincial Austro-Hungary in 1900 and centers on the contentious relationship between maid Stefania Chornenko and blueblood Adelia Anger. During the fire, Adelia's mother and Stefania's parents both died. Adelia's father took in a young orphan from the neighborhood. Although Stefania was the maid, the girls grew up together and became as close as sisters. This attachment becomes a love-trap, full of mutual manipulation and jealousy on the one hand, but equally built on care and commitment on the other. When Adelia marries sculptor Petro, the illusion of balance is disrupted. When Joseph, Stefa's past love interest, returns to town as a priest and a married man, everything becomes even more complex. Illusions will eventually fade away, revealing reality.