The aftermath of the 1916 tragedy, following the Kirghiz rising against the czarist oppressors. The cossacks were ordered to perform pitiless repression. Runaways fled along mountain paths in Jungaria, leaving behind villages that had been burnt down and plundered.
Young Mhukakh comes back to Kirghizstan following the advent of the Revolution in Turkestan. On his way, he meets a red guard who gives him a letter of introduction for the school inspector. The young man goes to the city hoping to start a new, better life. He meets Ououljan, a young woman and her family; her mother’s blind. Ououljan is to marry a rich merchant. The two young people escape with the mother’s blessing, but they are caught and Moukach dies while rescuing Ououljan.
