In the Shadow of Her Father is a family drama about a Middle Eastern woman named Ava in rural Ohio who leads a mundane life, working at a pet store by day and caring for her possessive alcoholic adoptive father at night as he suffers severe PTSD from his time in the Vietnam War. When an Egyptian stranger named Nabil knocks on her door, he sparks a passion and rebellion in her that changes everything, inspiring Ava to discover her true identity and confront her father's secrets.