As Carpathian legend has it, Oleksa Dovbush was a heroic outlaw with excellent fighting skills and a gift to predict the future. He was left an orphan as a small boy after a local lord murdered Oleksa's mother. After spending his childhood in exile in the mountains, he returned as a grown man to avenge his mother's death. Oleksa gathered followers to begin a crusade against the lord, but destiny made other plans for him.
In the isolated, rural world of the Danube delta, daily life is centred on a harsh and unforgiving landscape. Men cut through tall reeds and ice to bring in the harvest by boat, orthodox church-goers fill vessels of holy water. Here, the river is the central protagonist: the villagers find themselves at the margins, physically and symbolically pushed to the edges of the frame.