Ten-year-old Petru lives a happy and carefree life with his dog and buffaloes in an idyllic spot in Transylvania at the time of Ceaucescu's dictatorship. When his father is about to be arrested for political reasons, the family leaves the country in an daring escape via Hungary to Austria and initially are received into a refugee camp. Life becomes normal again, Petru makes new friendships, but then the events come thick and fast. The refugee camp is set on fire by a group hostile to foreigners, Petru is injured, the parents are unexpectedly deported. Petru decides to carry on alone and reaches Germany in a cattle truck. There he is discovered by an old station porter and taken to his home. Once more, he starts becoming used to his surroundings. In the end, his parents find him again, but Petru is no longer sure where he belongs and where life will lead him.