Marta tells a story of wars happening on two fronts for three people ? the war of organized armies and the internal war with the self. Marek and his father live secluded lives in the mountains, hunting and trading to survive. With a war raging, Marek has chosen to avoid conscription, at the same time caring for is dependent father. The world crashes in the day Marek finds Marta, a soldier, in one of his animal traps. Conflict is on all sides for the trio: Marta endangers their lives by staying with them, Marek is living with a soldier though he himself is a draft dodger, and Marek`s father is antagonistic toward Marta for simply being someone who could potentially take his son away. By never identifying the country or conflict, the universal tensions of war ? physical and psychological ? are highlighted, as are the human tendencies to hatred, fear and suspicion.