"From Afar" traces the malaise of a young artist and intellectual in three episodes: Book Burning, Breathing and Dawn. The Young protagonist lives in contemporary Tehran and he appears as a film student, an asthmatic businessman and a successful architect. In each story, he journeys toward a spiritual insight or emotion.
The film progresses along two distinct but interwoven series of events. The first series involves young members of a family who have gathered round their old mother and revive their common childhood memories. the second line focuses on the old woman's preparations for her last journey and her joyous cooperation in arranging for the ceremonies that are to be observed after her death.
Parvaneh, a famous singer and movie star, has an affair with a married man. A student named Baabak, who suffers from leukaemia, falls in love with Parvaneh. They have a good time together for a while, until she hears about Baabak's disease and decides to send him abroad for medical treatment.
Wounded by the police, a thief looks up his old friend in order to leave the proceeds of his theft with him. Instead, he finds that his friend is a drug addict. He sticks around to try and help his friend kick the habit; instead, both men are caught in a shootout with the police and...