After the loss of her mother, ten-year-old Mila spends the summer at her grandmother Albinca’s house with her father and older brother. While her father drifts into grief and her brother hides behind his computer, Mila confronts Albinca’s strictness and their conflicting memories of her own mother.
Restlessly, Mila explores the nearby meadows and forests, forging a wary friendship with the eccentric neighbour and beekeeper Karli, and feeling drawn to her peer Luka, one of the mischievous boys who built their own treehouse in the nearby forest. Rejected by the group, she begins building her own refuge in a cherry tree, marking its bark with temporary children’s tattoos.