The whole plot of the film revolves around the desperate circumstances in which Altyn finds herself: the betrayal of a boyfriend, an unexpected pregnancy, which is not welcomed by the moral norms of society. She is under constant pressure from her sister and her inner circle, who force her to have an abortion or illegally sell her child. But Altyn resolutely resists these encounters alien to her soul: stereotypes, manipulation, and a vicious lifestyle, the cult of consumption and money that has engulfed modern civilization. Through her behavior, she sets example of incorruptibility and a strong inner spiritual core.
The visual and moral symbol of the film is a small yellowish bird- a mountain wagtail. It runs through main storyline and flashbacks, accompanying the film’s protagonist from her childhood to her first teenage love in the city, the upheavals, the separation, and finally her return to the snow-white peaks of Mongu-Ata.
Accordingly, the main plot and dramatic conflict knot occurs between the two sisters, Altyn and Saira.
The two sisters are psychologically antipodes: Saira, confident and daring, resolute and believing only in success and power, and Altyn, quiet and brooding, outwardly mild and even fragile, but inwardly resistant, brought up by the harsh pastoral life and the extreme climate of the mountain glaciers…