When Shaikhon marries Dalal, a belly dancer, they are blessed with two kids. Shaikhon steals Dalal's money to buy the club where she works. Dalal gets back at him and reports him to the police who have him imprisoned. When he comes out of prison full of vengeance, his past ghosts still haunt him.

The film describes the political and economical corruption in 70s’ Egypt, through the relationship between a powerful man and his wife’s ex-fiance.

Set against the backdrop of the 1967 Six-Day War, the movie adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz's novel follows the escapist, drug-fueled riverboat meetings of a group of frustrated Egyptians from various walks of life.