Ten-year-old Sasha looks at the rails that “lead” to a new life every day from her window. Pith, as her father calls her, is looking for answers to thousands of questions that pop up like mushrooms in her head every now and then. Who will answer her questions? Her mom doesn’t have much patience for explanations. Her only hope is her father who listens to her carefully and in his little free time explains to her what she thirsts to know. Sesames—that’s what his daughter calls him—is a doctor and he doesn’t distinguish between the sick and the rich, nor between Russians and Poles or Jews. With these values, Sasha grows up in pre-revolutionary Russia, managing to stand up to injustice and learn what it means to be a true hero. She watches what is happening around her and waits with longing and excitement for the big change that knocks on her door.