The story takes place before WWII, in a photo studio atop a hill that attracts many customers eager to capture their image. One eventful day, a timid couple arrives with the wife constantly looking away. The studio owner goes to great lengths to make her smile, and eventually succeeds. A year later, the couple returns with their daughter, who always looks unhappy. The studio owner uses every trick in the book to get her to grin, resulting in a deep connection between owner and child that grows throughout the years and decades to come...