Lydia, a resident of a Moldovan village, meets a neighbour as she steps out of her house; the neighbour, ‘without a second thought ’, notices Lydia’s unpainted fence, forcing her to go back and paint it. Meanwhile, her husband passes away. Lydia’s daughter arrives at the funeral with her grandson. The neighbour reminds her of an old tradition: the ‘pomana’, gifts in honour of the deceased. Terrified, Lydia forgets all about her husband’s death; her daughter tries to get through to her mother, but all Lydia cares about is what people will think.