For some time now a strange cloud of mist has been hanging over a village of fishermen, stopping the men from going to sea. Fear and superstition reign.
Two young men, Yatma and Mbanick, childhood friends, love the same woman, Maxoye. Mbanik is the son of a marabou and is the only who dares defy the spirits, thereby making the fog disappear.
The village celebrates its hero and springs to life again with the sun’s return. The fishermen head out for sea, the marketplace is decked out in bright colors. Maxoye and Mbanik no longer need hide their love affair. Yatma, however, can’t bear Mbanik’s new status. One night, in a fit of jealousy, he kills his friend and rival and dumps his corpse into the ocean. Peer, Yatma’s father, the village “Lion”, enforces a law of silence on the village with regards to his son’s crime, although everyone knows he’s guilty. The Lion then gets Maxoye to marry Yatma. She accepts, planning revenge for Mbanik’s death: Yatma will have to raise the future offspring of his victim.
The years go by, Maxoye won’t let Yatma touch her and publicly humiliates him time and time again.
Yatma becomes increasingly isolated and desperate. Then things shift, time and love are on Yatma’s side: Maxoye accepts his love and returns it. Yatma is giddy with joy, but a more insidious form of revenge rises from the sea…