A peasant woman's life of hardship after a marriage without a dowry portion means she'll do anything to ensure her cruel, miserly husband produces a portion for their beautiful daughter.

A young woman and her mother are sent a maid to keep house for them. Observing the working class woman and her constant joy causes the young woman to reevaluate her own life and desires for herself.

A Polish immigrant feels her mind slipping away, as her surroundings and even her own body seem unfamiliar. After she's diagnosed with Alzheimers, she reflects on the importance of her memories and her past.

Two little girls form a tumultuous friendship that impacts each of their life's dreams and desires in deep, unconscious ways—a fact that only becomes evident when they reconnect many years down the line.

A Jewish mother wants her daughter to marry well and have a better life, but her husband doesn't seem to care. After her other daughter passes away, she realizes she should not hesitate to make bigger sacrifices.

Following the death of her mother, a daughter recalls her mother gossiping about a small family in the Ottowa valley where a man shamelessly robs two sisters of their inheritance through marriage.

As a mother waits for a call from her child, she reflects upon how her daughter fell into the trap of marriage.

A Russian girl looks forward to occasional visits by her mother's best friend. When the friend soon plans to visit with her new deaf and blind lover, feelings of scandal, anxiety, and curiosity emerge in the girl's family.

After one woman's husband has an affair with the neighbor, the two women erect a bamboo fence so they never have to look at each other. Once the husband leaves, the married woman's son grows sicker as he longs for the company of his half-sister next door.

A girl witnesses her loyal childhood servant succumb to the demands of her sister's abusive husband.