When she recognises the body of the woman who was her mother, a young woman is drawn violently back into her past. She lived in the ‘Big House’ with her mother, Zahia. It was a boarding house converted into a brothel, which Zahia ruled with an iron fist – just as she ruled the whole neighbourhood. The little girl was known locally as the daughter of Zahia, the prostitute. From Mouy Rahma and her husband, she discovers who she really is – on the very day her mother chooses to tell her everything.