During a Romanian winter, a young Parisian named Stephane arrives in hopes of tracking down a famous folk singer. He becomes the surrogate son of an old drunk, Izidor, and becomes a curiosity to the villagers who name him the "crazy stranger." Speaking only a few words of Romanian, he communicates through a young peasant woman named Sabina. Just when Stephane and Sabine begin to fall in love, things turn nasty with the return of Izidor's son Adriani, a Gypsy Mafioso just out of jail.