In the 19th century in Macedonia, a mysterious figure known as Maria – a "Wolf-Eateress" (Macedonian: Волкојатка, romanized: Volkojatka) – strides into a humble abode, where a newborn baby girl awaits. The girl's mother, Elica, filled with fear, pleads for the girl's life, promising that she will relinquish her to Maria once she reaches the age of 16. Maria, with a ghoulish countenance marred by burns, accepts the terms but not without a sinister twist: she steals the girl’s voice before departing. In a desperate act of protection, Elica conceals her daughter, Nevena, in a cave, raising her away from the perils of the world outside.
As the clock marks Nevena's 16th birthday, Maria makes her ominous return, adopting the guise of an eagle. Elica, desperate to protect her child, chases the bird, only to lose her life in the process. In a vile transformation, Maria then assumes Elica’s shape, drawing Nevena out of her sanctuary. Unbeknownst to Nevena, Maria is about to wield her dark powers: witches possess the ability to initiate a new witch by performing a sacrilegious act; Maria kills a donkey, inscribes a mark on Nevena’s chest with its blood, and ignites a fire over the wound, forever altering the girl’s destiny. Now a witch, Nevena is cursed with dangerous retractable black talons, growing not just in power, but also in the lurking shadows of Maria’s influence.
Maria aims to instruct Nevena in the art of hunting and consuming animals, a source of power for witches, yet Nevena, with her childlike innocence, opts to frolic with these creatures instead. Dissatisfied and frustrated with Nevena’s rebellion, the malevolent Maria abandons her, leaving Nevena to navigate a world fraught with peril. In a moment of revelation, Nevena watches Maria shapeshifting into a wolf—understanding the mechanics of witchcraft as she observes the entrails Maria uses for her transformations.
Left to her own devices, Nevena stumbles upon a village where, through an unfortunate accident, she kills a mother named Bosilka and, driven by survival instincts, assumes her identity. As Nevena, thought to be Bosilka, tries to adapt to human life, her silence and bewilderment lead others to believe that the real Bosilka has lost her sanity. Learning the necessary skills to blend in—such as cooking and washing—Nevena unwittingly draws Maria’s distant gaze, who is ever-watchful.
When Bosilka's abusive husband attempts to assault her, Nevena, confused by the brutal act, succumbs to terror and, in a fit of instinct, kills him. She reverts to her original form before making her escape. A chance encounter leads her to a group of young men, where she takes the guise of Boris, luring one away before killing him and adopting his shape. As Boris, Nevena experiences a semblance of normal life in the village, although her peculiar behavior sparks rumors of possession among the villagers. Still, she persists, finding joy until the awareness of human connection becomes her ultimate challenge.
As time flows, Nevena finds herself entangled with a boy named Jovan, who seems equally mute. An innocent bond develops between them, culminating in a season of sweet love, although Maria’s warnings about drawing too close to humans echo in Nevena's mind. Their idyllic moments soon transform into sorrow when she encounters a dying child, Biliana, who has tumbled from a cliff. The grief induces tears for Nevena for the first time, prompting her to assume Biliana's identity and secure a place in the village community once more—this time as a cherished child among her peers.
As years pass, in Nevena’s evolving life as Biliana, she marries Jovan, and for the first time, love flourishes without fear. Reveling in their connection, she reveals her true self, displaying sharp claws, but Jovan proves unafraid. The couple’s bliss is short-lived, plunged into tragedy when Jovan is brutally killed—implied to be at the hands of the vengeful Maria in disguise. Now a mother, Nevena faces an unimaginable horror when she finds Maria with her newborn daughter, viciously mocking the child before enacting violence. In a moment of desperate love and sacrifice, Nevena uses her solitary witch spell to save her baby by performing the dark ritual that grants the child witch powers.
As Maria's own feelings of jealousy emerge, a rare moment of vulnerability unfolds. In her final moments, Maria finally acknowledges the love Nevena harbors for her child, leading Nevena to fulfill her destiny in a grave act of courage. The climax of their darkly woven tale culminates in Nevena slaying Maria, emerging as a beacon of love poised against the backdrop of tragedy, remembering each life she has lived as the shadows of the past recede.
