The young nun Yohanna is sent on a short mission to the Indonesian eastern island of Sumba where she will deliver a truck load of donated provisions and medical supplies to the victims of Cyclone Seroja. When her plan to rent a small truck falls through, a kindly old man refuses her meagre offer and lends her his truck free of charge. Yohanna promises to take good care of it and return it in due time. But she doesn't realize she will be driving into one of the poorest and most corrupt regions of the country.

Malu, who dropped out of the convent but remains a friend accompanies Yohanna on the trip. She is fascinated by Yohanna's humanitarian commitment to what strikes her as a lost cause. They drop off supplies at a school then visit a housing unit to donate food and medicine. During a lunch break, the truck is stolen and Yohanna sets out to find it.

Young Alice offers to help Yohanna. As so many of her peers, Alice is a small- time thief and peddler of bootlegged alcohol on the street. She sets out to query her network of underground cohorts to get the stolen vehicle back.