Orozbek, a joyful boy who loves to draw, lives with his grandmother in a remote village deep in the snowy mountains. He has to walk a long distance to school, and one day the stream washes over its banks, blocking his way.

A village boy awaits his father's return from the front. Though he doesn't yet know the alphabet, he begins composing letters and enrolls in school early to learn to write. He believes the Moon Witch — a figure from a fairytale — is behind all the misfortunes of war. In his dreams, he battles her on the moon as she casts black letters — death notices — down to Earth...