About the title
Based on works by Sadriddin Ayni. Pre-revolutionary Tajikistan, Dushanbe. The film's main character, Shakir, cannot find his place in life: he doesn't make it as a peasant, he dislikes trading, he isn't trained in a craft, and he cannot study to become a mufti because he doubts the dogmas of the Quran. However, the Chief Mufti prophesies a great future for Shakir as a commander who conquers all, so they decide to... execute him. Shakir himself knows nothing of this and becomes a target for reprisal by the local elite; he leaves the city in search of a better fate and adventures. Meanwhile, foreign smugglers arrive in Dushanbe.