Although she leads a comfortable life now, Faat Kine (Venus Seye), a wealthy Senegalese woman who's raised two children on her own and built up a prosperous gas station to support them, hasn't always had it easy. Through flashbacks, the determined heroine reveals her difficult path to success in a fiercely patriarchal society. Director Ousmane Sembene's quietly compelling drama offers an unflinching look at the status of women's rights in Africa.