A man, a woman and their four daughters live in a small wooden house in a mountain village. Their deep catholic faith and their superstitions strongly influence their daily life. After the man’s accidental death on a mountain track, his wife and four girls remain alone, closed in their sorrowful and silent mourning, interrupted only by their prayers. During this very long period of grief, that seems endless, some strange figures appear - the deer-men. These mysterious and imaginary figures join in with the mourning of the four young girls and hide some obscure secrets. They are not mythological figures at all, but men of flesh and bone, who wake the girls from their stupor and arouse hidden desires in them. Brought up with absolute moral rigidity and lack of affection, for these women it is really high time to move on, make peace with their true nature and get rid of the too restricting family ties.