Spring 1941. Simon Reznik, his wife Bassia whom he loves dearly and their six children flee in front of the Germans who exterminate the Jews of Kolomyia where they lived. With their little covered wagon pulled by a horse, they arrive in a small Ukrainian village. Demian Prokopevich, the head of the municipal soviet, obeying the party rules, leads them to a dilapidated house where they will be able to take refuge. Their neighbor, old Motri, does not like it at all, because this ruin belonged to her sister who died. The irascible neighborhood and the restoration work did not discourage Simon, who, endowed with Herculean energy and strength, immediately set to work to restore the katha (Ukrainian rural dwelling). This arouses the sympathy and then the interest of the villagers and although the first job of "Shimon" is to slaughter cattle, he is integrated into Comrade Grib's team as a carpenter.