One morning, during the Chechen wars, young Havaa wakes from her dreams back to her nightmarish reality. The Feds (Federal Russians authorities) had burned her house down, abducted her father, and left her for dead. This is not unusual in their village, Eldar, which has been war-torn for a decade. Akhmed, the neighbor takes Havaa in and cares for her, but without resources, he leaves Havaa in the care of Sonja, an ethnic Russian. However, Sonja is the only doctor nearby, and is constantly busy with helping bombing victims and supporting the resistance forces.
Sonja is a skilled doctor, and her resourcefulness is unparalleled. Akhmed is a complete amateur compared to her, but both have seen their fair share of tragedy. Akhmed's own wife is in a vegetative state from a Russian attack. Not only that, but the unrealistic demands of Akhmed's medical abilities is too much for the poor doctor, and he starts to just paint portraits of the dead and he hangs them throughout the neighborhood.
Sonja grew up with a sister, Natasha, who was prettier while Sonja was smarter. Now both are in serious peril, because they are ethnic Russians from invasions past, so they are not welcomed in the region. Natasha turns to the help of a sex trafficker to help her escape through a future in prostitution. Akhmed earns keep for himself and for Havaa by doing what little he can to help Sonja's hospital. Each victim has a story, some of which Akhmed knows and tells, and some that are left in obscurity.
In the neighborhood, there is a historian who is seen burning his history of Chechen lands. He tells of bringing his parent's bones back to the lands in his suitcase in the 1956 repatriation. He also tells an unfortunate fact—his son is the informant who got Havaa's father in trouble, and chances are, the son will inform on Havaa and Akhmed. However, the son is not evil—he is merely the victim of unspeakable torture, torture that ends in him giving up information.
The novel ends with descriptions of life as grim and hopeless, but in light of their suffering, they are granted honor by the novel, and their stories are likened to "a constellation of vital phenomena."
