In the wake of the Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein turns his wrath and his air force loose against the Iraqi Kurds. Victimized by repeated bombings and extensive use of chemical weapons, Kurdish refugees are fleeing towards the Iranian border in droves. The film opens in Iranian Kurdistan. Mirza, an aging well-known Kurdish singer, along with his musician sons, Barat and Audeh, are about to embark on a journey in search of his ex-wife Hanareh. Once the singer in a band of musicians that also included Mirza's friend Seyed, Hanareh left Mirza 23 years ago to marry Seyed in Iraqi Kurdistan and continue to sing there. Now, Mirza has received word that she is singing for the Kurdish refugees on the Iran-Iraq border and is in need of his help. To persuade his reluctant sons to accompany him on this perilous journey, he tells them he really did not divorce Hanareh but only claimed he did to save the family's honor….