A new law is passed which makes the act of reading subject to a license. After waiting in line to get his license, Ali finds himself stuck with a permit that allows him to access only certain types of books. Ali does not give up easily. Under the gaze of men in uniform, he will try every possible way to get the books he wants.
Kosmos is a thief and a miracle-worker. He appears one morning in a tiny, snowbound border village where he is welcomed with open arms – on account of arriving just in time to resuscitate a small boy who would otherwise have drowned.