An Iranian Kurds family is trying to survive after the death of its parents. ''Ayoub'', the eldest boy in the family, becomes the head of the household and must do whatever work available to survive. ''Madi'', Ayoub's handicapped brother, is in need of a medical operation. ''Ayoub'' goes to great lengths to collect money for the operation by smuggling truck tires with a group of Kurdish villagers near the Iran-Iraq border. Ayoub ultimately falls short of his intended goal and his uncle decides to marry off his sister in return for the groom's family financing Madi's operation on the Iraqi side of the border. When they arrive the mother of the groom refuses to accept Madi and agrees to give Ayoub and his uncle a mule as compensation. Ayoub decides to take the mule to Iraq where it is worth more, and sell it to pay for his brother's surgery. Some smugglers let him come along with him. They use mules to carry goods and feed them liquor allowing them to better survive the harsh mountain winter. But they are ambushed while heading to the border, and the horses are too drunk to carry on. Ayoub narrowly manages to escape, and the last shot is of him and his brother crossing the border.