A 10-year-old boy named Kirisk sets off for the sea for the first time together with his father, grandfather and uncle to engage in the difficult and dangerous mission which is integral to their traditional lifestyle: hunting seals. But the hunters are plagued by misfortune: for several days the sea is shrouded in mist, so they become desperately disorientated. Their meagre rations are soon at an end, and water is running short. In despair the adult men make one final decision: one by one they take their own lives in order to preserve that of the boy, thus extending the life of the tribe itself. The film is based on the story of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov.