After losing everything in the Great Fire of Smyrna in 1922, Kivelli Fotiathi is stranded in the Greek city of Piraeus, surrounded by gangsters, prostitutes, and fellow refugees, and living in a brothel with nothing but a remarkable singing voice and the clothes on her back. Thanks to her talent and some good fortune, she soon becomes a recording star and escapes from poverty, but even though her life has improved, she still finds herself longing for the magical world of her youth.