An unlikely bond forms between an 11-year-old Holocaust victim girl who returns as a ghost to Poland and a 12-year-old refugee boy fleeing the horrors of a modern-day Russian war against Ukraine. Together, they embark on a poignant journey of friendship and discovery, unearthing the girl’s hidden family treasure as the echoes of history reverberate through time.

SYNOPSIS:

In the war-torn year of 2022, Olena and her young son Stepan nearly escape death running off the Russian-occupied territory Ukraine, seeking refuge in Tarnów, Poland, where Olena’s sister already resides with her daughter Yasia. The Przeworski family, who are their distant relatives, generously welcomes them into their home. Olena leaves Stepan with them and goes to Ukraine.

Przeworski’s teen children, (Pawel (13), Agnieszka (17)) make good company to Stepan (12) and Yasia (8).Hanging together, they explore Tarnów museums and heritage and come to the haunting memorial of the First Transport to Auschwitz . Their thinking matures as the horrible parallels of this war with WWII strike their eyes.

These events of 2022 cross-cut with 1940 when the first train to Auschwitz (the first group of more than 700 people the Nazis listed “unwanted) was sent from Tarnów. The jewelry shop owner, Rafał Zieliński, his wife Elżbeta, his mother Cylia, and his daughter Hawa are on the list.

Anticipating they will be sent to the concentration camp soon, Rafał asks his friend, Grzegorz, to help him hide all the jewelry from the shop. Hawa helps Rafał and Grzegorz hide the treasure in an almost inaccessible place in the basement of Grzegorz’s house - it is only small Hawa who could do the job.

The next day, the whole Rafał’s family, together with the other captives, is taken to Tarnów railway station and sent to Auschwitz. Grzegorz is captured and put on the same train - he has been helping Resistance fighters and ex-soldiers of the Polish Army flee to Hungary and then to France, but his activity was exposed, and he got arrested.

Everybody understands that their chances of returning home are very small, but Hawa somehow knows that she will come back to Tarnów.

“Why are they doing this to us?” - this question sounds in 1940, as well as in 2022, and the answer is strikingly the same: “They want us not to exist”. While the methods the occupiers use are different, the lists of “unwanted persons” and the goals the enemy is after do not differ much.

In Tarnów, 2022, Paweł, Agnieszka, and Yasia show Stepan the telephone booth where the memorial visitors can listen to the stories of the people on the first Auschwitz train. These stories deeply impress Stepan. He feels that he has many things in common with these people. He comes to this booth repeatedly to hear more stories and one day…

One day, Hawa talks to Stepan over that phone!

Yes, she is a ghost who has contacted Stepan because he has shown lots of understanding and compassion - and now they begin to communicate. Hawa manifests herself to Stepan. Although their interaction never goes easy, they become friends indeed. After all, she is only an 11-year-old girl who needs friends and wants to share her secret.

Guided by Hawa’s spectral presence, Stepan, Pawel, Agnieszka, and Yasia set out on a daring adventure to the abandoned house where the treasure lies hidden. The journey strengthens their bond as they confront the horrors of the past and the harsh realities of the present.

Unveiling the treasure to the world creates a sensation in the city, and the children’s act of selflessness touches the hearts of many. The treasure is donated to support the needs of the Ukrainian Army and those affected by the ongoing Russian aggression.

As Olena comes to take Stepan back home, he can’t shake the feeling that he will return to Tarnów one day, just as Hawa once promised her parents. The powerful connection he shared with the ghost of a young girl whose life was cut short during the darkest times in history leaves an indelible mark on his heart and fuels his determination to honor her memory.

In a poignant and hopeful finale, Stepan gazes back at Tarnów, knowing that the bond he forged with Hawa and the profound lessons he learned will forever shape his journey.

“- Why are they doing this to us? - They want us to cease to exist.” These haunting words echo through time, weaving together the stories of two souls separated by decades but united by their shared humanity and the resilience to endure unimaginable challenges.