Every day, Hiru Assefa, barely 14 years old, is forced to travel more than 300 kilometres of dark and deserted roads to get back to her school. Her parents are poor farmers who do not have enough money to rent her an apartment in Addis Ababa, where she attends school. One day, on her way home from school, Hirut was kidnapped by a gang of young men on horseback. One of them, 29 years old, has set his heart on her and wants to make her his wife. He confines her and rapes her at every moment. As encouraged by an Ethiopian ancestral tradition called "telefa", which elders consider "romantic", men remove those they wish to take as women. Unable to bear all this physical abuse, Hirut decided to free himself from the clutches of his aggressor. She stole a gun and escaped, but in order to escape she had to kill her attacker. Local courts, based on customary law, impose the death penalty. Informed of the case, Meaza, a pioneer in women's rights in Ethiopia, defended her. At the risk of her life, the lawyer will have to fight against the prejudices and traditions of Ethiopian society in order to have Hirut cleared in a trial that has taken on a national dimension.