A story of a naive man, whose direct behavior stirs in people moral unrest, rage and embarrassment over their own pettiness, making them yearn for goodness.

In the midst of Stalinist tyranny, six-year-old Leelo's mother is sent to a prison camp. Haunted by her mother's last words telling her to be a good kid, Leelo vows to be on her best behaviour in the confusing grown-up world in the hope that it will bring her mother back.