Tanabay is a proud Kazakh war hero and loyal Communist who is pressured into taking a position as a herdsman in a collective farm in the Stalinist era after WWII. The pride and joy of the collective is a beautiful stallion named Gulsary. After Gulsary wins a race, the new commissar of the collective lays claim to the beloved and headstrong horse, which leads to a battle of a wills. Tanabay and Gulsary are both punished and separated for their refusal to bend to the rules of the Stalinist era.

柏林电影节杰出个人成就银熊奖。 「Tolomush Okeyev無疑是一個值得關注的導演、一個偉大的電影藝術家。他知道如何在獨裁政權最風聲鶴唳的情況下拍攝出完美的影片。無論是在內涵或是型式上都是如此。他迷人的人格特質讓他成為一個既思想開放又可愛的人」。 ~Tchinguiz Aïtmatov~