Bahar (Farahani) is a young lawyer who, after visiting her family in her native town in Kurdistan, is kidnapped by extremists along with her son and thousands of other women and children. A few months after her escape, she becomes the commander of female battalion Girls of the Sun, and their objective is to take back the town where she was captured and bring back her hostage son.

By her side is Mathilde (Delpy), a veteran war reporter inspired by real-life crusader Marie Colvin, who follows the daily life of the Girls of the Sun during three days of the offensive. United by their quest for hope and justice, Bahar shares with Mathilde the succession of events that brought them together.