In the Kazakh countryside near Alma Ata are the houses of the young Timur and Elya. They have just broken up. But they live next-door to each other, so they continue to bump into each other and their love inevitably blossoms again. Timur’s barn, where he keeps his pigeons, is also the place their love was first consummated. Their relationship leads to marriage and Elya is soon pregnant; their happiness would appear limitless. But Elya dies during the birth. After this tragedy, Timur becomes involved in a nighttime fight in Alma Ata and a accidentally stabs a man to death. He is accused of murder and imprisoned, but manages to escape. His flight is however into insanity, back to his pigeon shed.
