Albania 1958: A boy and girl grow up together in the same village. They are the best of friends. LUANA is the daughter of a well respected man, AGIM the son of traitors who were banned from the city by the communists. Despite these adverse circumstances, the children maintain their friendship. 
In ten year‘s time, friendship will turn into love. When Luana‘s father ERION finds out he is furious and arranges for Luana to be engaged to FLAMUR to whom she has been promised since childhood. Agim wants to elope with Luana, but she feels bound by the loyalty to her family and fears for his life. If the communists would capture them, they would be killed. Luana sacrifices her love for his safety. She leaves Agim and tries to be a good bride to Flamur. But her fiance is a cruel man, set on subjecting her to his will at any price. Her father, Erion, actually breaks the engagement when he witnesses a scene in which his daughter is being denigrated. In the ensuing fight, Flamur kills Luana‘s father. He denies his guilt by maintaining that the fight started because Luana wasn‘t a virgin. The men of the village force her to undergo a humiliating examination. 
More and more Luana experiences being a woman as a curse. She decides to follow an ancient custom which allows her to swear to remain a virgin and live as a man, a „Burrnesha“. She will be the head of the family and avenge her father‘s blood. Unable to accept her decision, Agim and his parents try to flee from Albania. But they are caught and his father gets killed. Luana manages to help the badly injured Agim to escape. After he is gone, she turns into a „man“ all the way, she avenges her father‘s blood and shoots Flamur dead. Respected and feared in the village she changes her name into Jack.