The father, Ahmad Abd al Jawad, is somber and tyrannical with his wife and children, but at night seeks pleasure in the aesthetic and erotic. His wife, Amina, is a willing prisoner in a society where it is forbidden for a virtuous woman to leave her house except in the company of her husband or adult sons. Aisha, their younger daughter, dares to peer through the mashrabeya from which the women view the world. And Fahmy, their second son, is caught up in the violence that threatens them all as Egypt struggles to become free.