After fighting on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, a man goes into exile in France. His wife begins to work to support their family. He writes numerous letters to her. She reads them to her children by candlelight. The years pass and he does not return home. A Greek choir tells stories of other women who, like the protagonist, started a new life when the war began. Penelopes who did not succumb to looming traps and impassive wait.