When the deafening cacophony of war dies away, Stevo is left alone with his daughter Dunja and son Small - and the dead body of their mother. At least it seems that the worst is over, until a terrible rumble starts far away and draws ever closer. But the source of the noise is not a killing machine. It is the huge, brightly-painted vehicle of a travelling circus. As they get to know the group of bizarre but utterly human characters of all ages who make up the troupe of clowns, trapeze artists, fire-eaters and freaks, hope and laughter return for Stevo and his children. Only days later, transformed by the heightened experience of circus life, they will leave their battered home and join the caravan for a new life on the road.