Detective John Cardinal attempts to uncover the mystery of what happened to the missing 13-year-old girl whose body is discovered in the shaft-head of an abandoned mine. At the same time, he comes under investigation by his new partner, Lise Delorme, a tough investigator in her own right.

In the fifties, the leaders of the Greek-Catholic church are arrested and sent to the Sighet prison.The soviet regime has banned any church except the orthodox. Tortured and dehumanized, the only choices are conversion or death. The bishop Iuliu Hossu stands up in front of the torturers and through courage and stature becomes an inspiration for the other priests.

Thomas is seduced by Julie and tells her stories in which he was involved or that he witnessed. All of them pose the question of what links and binds us to each other. But are we capable of perceiving this singular and poetic mystery?