In her thirties, a woman living on an island in the middle of green waters decides she must go to the mainland. For years on the island, she has taken care of old people and young children and the sick, and the people in her community let her know she will be much missed when she leaves. She goes to the pastor's house that day and tells him she wants to serve on the mainland. He takes her over in a boat and she begins her training. She is taught how to clean children and take care of illnesses, things she already knows. She is placed at a créche in a very poor area of town and takes care of children with sad upbringings and poor behavior as a result of their chaos-driven lives amidst the poverty stricken streets. The woman is not bothered by their behavior and treats each child with tenderness and love. She cleans up the filthy room they are in and sings songs that tell stories. The children grow to love her and their parents accept her as well, sitting and talking with her every evening when they come to pick up their children. There is one child she is particularly taken by, a young boy named Gosta whose mother does not care for him. As the months go by, the woman becomes more and more attached to Gosta as the rest of the children adjust more and more to the stability and safety she provides them all. After a year, just as winter sets in, she receives a letter commending her for her good work she has done. She is being promoted to a new créche in a nicer area of town. She tells the children she will be leaving and they all cry. Around this time, Gosta's mother comes in the créche and confesses that she has killed a man she loved. She then flees into the night, dragging Gosta with her by the arm. The woman realizes that this is a perfect time to take Gosta for herself and bring him with her when she leaves. She heads to the small home where Gosta and his mother live and finds it bloodied and surrounded by people staring at the crime scene. She leaves the home and goes to the police station. There, she discovers that Gosta has been taken to the state prison orphanage, and will be unable to leave until he is an adult. She accepts the loss of the child she so badly wanted and realizes it is for the best. She reflects back on their time together and is grateful to have encountered a love so dear, but knows she is not meant for the personal love that comes with a bond between mother and child. She returns to the créche for her final days there and sings to the children about green waters and an island in the sea.