A large village high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan has become almost deserted. Not only the three old men who are protecting the empty houses, but also the young guy, a demobilized soldier, aches for him. And why don’t people return to such wonderful places where life is cleaner and healthier than in cities?..
Teenager Mukai spends most of the year in a remote Kyrgyz village with his grandmother while his parents work in a secluded mountain area. At thirteen, he is considered an adult by local standards. Mukai helps adults with logging, visits his father in the mountains, takes his grandmother to Lake Issyk-Kul where she first met Mukai's grandfather, herds horses to the dock, and interacts with city visitors at the lake.