When the cranes migrate over the Kyrgyz steppe early in the year, it promises a good harvest. This is what fifteen-year-old Sultanmurat hopes for, who is secretly in love with the flower of the playground, the beautiful and proud Myrsagül. However, this winter, the responsibility for the community rests entirely on the shoulders of the youth - all the fathers are at the front for the Soviet Union. The agricultural work on the frozen fields is tough, and the supplies of food and heating materials are running low. When one night the four best horses are stolen, the situation seems hopeless. Sultanmurat faces a difficult test of character.