A little boy Anatole lives in 1960s in the steppe in Kazakhstan with his parents-archaeologists. One day he witnesses the accidental death of his brother, this drama traumatizes the boy so much that he loses his ability to speak. Once he meets an old Kazakh who will teach him to hear again the world around him and will teach him how to speak again. The whole life of Anatole depends from now on from his ability to hear. His ear connects him to the world. 50 years later, the steppe calls him again.
To do with himself in this world - the eternal question of youth. On the boys and girls wander from lane to lane, from apartment to apartment, get into fights, to the police station. At the same time they read wonderful poetry, listening to beautiful music, and sincere love. They have a delicate taste and a pure soul, but still to do with himself, where?
The film is a recollection of an adult about the unforgettable days of the first post-war year. Klava, who lost her husband at the front, with her 12-year-old daughter Lyusya sheltered Aygul with a seven-year-old boy in her house. Aygul's son - the main character, now became a pilot, recalls his childhood in a small Kazakh city, which fell on a difficult post-war time. Flying high above the Earth, he thinks of the Russian girl Lyusya, from his distant past.