It is winter in Teheran. Lateef is 17. He works at a building construction site managed by Memar, the site foreman. Lateef's job is to serve tea and prepare food for the workers with whom he is always quarrelling. The workers come from all parts of Iran, particularly from Iranian Azerbaijan (Azeris are referred as "Turks" in the film). Some workers are Afghan refugees from war-torn Afghanistan. They have no identity cards and are employed illegally as cheap labour. When the labour inspectors show up, the Afghan workers must hide.