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Set in socialist-era Mongolia during the harsh winter of 1970, an extreme cold wave sweeps across the countryside, killing vast numbers of livestock. Many herder families are left without food or fodder. In response, prisoners who drive heavy trucks are mobilized to deliver hay and supplies. Among them is a young man named Tulga, accompanied by a prison guard.

When their truck breaks down in the middle of the steppe, Tulga is left alone in a blizzard. Struggling to survive, he sets out on foot to find shelter but soon collapses, nearly freezing to death. At the brink of despair, he is found by a woman and her daughter.

The family consists of a mother, her nine-year-old daughter, and the grandmother, who suffers from dementia. The mother, who has long awaited the return of her son, mistakes Tulga for him. The young girl also comes to believe he is her father and grows deeply attached to him. As time passes, the grandmother dies, and eventually, the time comes for Tulga to leave.