"Everyone lives the life they are meant to live, it's God's plan," says Vladimira. She proudly states that her name means "owner of the world." Who would have thought when seeing her? AIDS is visible in her body, and drug use has consumed her to the point of resembling a corpse. Despite it all, it is clear that she is a strong and determined woman, living with the consequences of her actions and deeply religious. She clings to God to keep going. She contracted the HIV virus many years ago, in Kiev, with a group of friends. They were using heroin guided by a sort of "spiritual guide," who told them they had to share everything, even the syringes. Marked by the virus, many "friends" distanced themselves from her, turned their backs on her, and she was left alone, immersed in depression and despair. Not having anyone makes life very difficult, and only her cats accompany her in her agony. She also has a couple of friends, one of whom provides her with and administers the drugs. At fifty-five years old, she is weak and her legs can barely support the weight of her body. Neglecting to take antiretroviral treatment has been gradually consuming her body, and only the drugs distance her from intense pain.

Vladimira has often been on the brink of death due to overdoses. For almost twenty years, she worked as a prostitute. Along the way, she lost her husband and daughter to drugs and AIDS. Recently, she has been forced to leave the home she occupied due to persistent threats from "thugs." Sick and without financial resources, her life seemed lost and directionless. But fate has given her another chance, and after a difficult period in the hospital, she has been taken in by an organization for the homeless in Zytomyr, where she is recovering away from drugs and that hostile world that was consuming her.

Ukraine is experiencing one of the worst HIV/AIDS epidemics in Europe, mainly due to intravenous drug use and sexual contact. In 2017, there were 15,000 new cases, with a total of around 240,000 infected people in the country.