1960s Turkey countryside. A newly assigned teacher finds out that the solitary village is missing a school. He gets fond of the village people and especially a disabled man. The teacher helps the village to build a new school and educate the children and the disabled man.
A young woman of about 17 years old, named Meryem (Ozgu Namal), has been raped, and her village's customs call for her to be killed to restore honor and dignity to her family and village. The eldest son of the village leader, Cemal (Murat Han), is ordered to take Meryem to Istanbul and kill her, but at the last minute he cannot complete the task.
The movie tells the desperate adventure of two people, Arzuhan and Ahmet, who are passionately in love in South-Eastern Turkey.
Ahmet Bedevi, also known as Tarzan of Manisa, was born in 1900 in Baghdad to become a soldier, fighting in the War of Independence and honored with a medal. He returned to a ruined and destroyed Manisa in 1923. Bedevi started working at the Municipality as a fireman and a gardener. He became the pioneer and symbol of planting activities. Because of the soft climate of the area, he first wore a vest and trousers and then he started wandering about in the town in his shorts. The people of Manisa saw his resemblance to Tarzan because of his clothes, and always cherished him with love. Tarzan of Manisa lived in the mount Spilylus, ignoring all his individual needs but working for a greener environment. He died on 31st May, 1963. However, he has never been forgotten by the locals; on the contrary, he was immortalized for the things he did for Manisa and people followed his example.
In the half-light of dawn, Halil falls down dead, murdered. His wife, Elmas, cries for justice, but, in fact, there will be no investigation. Life goes on for Elmas: during the day she works in the rice paddies with her little boy and, at night, she goes to catch frogs with the other villagers.
Ramazan, together with his children, migrate to the big city, Istanbul in order to give them a better life. His daughter Fidan begins working as a clerk at a shop. But she could not adapt to the life of big city. She runs away with the son of the shop owner. Ramazan searches for his daughter, but the big city already has corrupted his daughter
Nalan reminds Murat of his wife who died in the lake. After a while, Murat convinces himself that Nalan is his dead wife, Sabiha. Murat loses his sense of reality when a new man gets involved.
The son of a wealthy, respected family seeks the hand of Hazal; unexpectedly, soon after her marriage, her husband dies. According to custom, as the deceased family had paid dowry for Hazal, she must marry the next male sibling—which in this case, happens to be an 11-year old boy.