An old lady mourns over the death of her neighbour and secret lover. At her grave she comes across the lover’s spitting image. It’s the absent grand daughter whose resemblance awakens former desires.
The timid painter Ruth mourns the death of her life-long neighbour and secret lover Marianne. At her grave she stumbles upon Marianne's youthful likeness. It's Marianne's granddaughter Vera, who is on the search for a grandmother she had never met. Vera visits Ruth, wanting to find out more about her grandmother, and offers to pose for a portrait for the sensitive painter like her grandmother used to pose for her. Little does she know that her likeness to Marianne slowly evokes a hidden past in Ruth – life stories molded by romantic ideals and a blunt reality.