Summary

Inese (41) and Karlis (62) occupy an illegally built hut in the suburbs of Riga in Latvia. After the collapse of socialism, they have found themselves at the bottom of the social ladder, doomed to fighting for mere existence. They live on a single retiring allowance and other people’s leftovers. They are neither alcoholics nor criminals, they are les misérables of today. They are growing scraggy vegetables, picking mushrooms, gathering windfallen branches for fuel, and breeding earthworms for anglers. Everything they put their hands to falls through… After fifteen years of living together, Karlis and Inese are expecting their first baby.