Asa completes his naval service and goes to live with his sister Samal and her husband Ondas on the Kazakh steppe. In order to become a shepherd, Asa must first be married but the only eligible woman with miles is the enigmatic Tulpan and she rejects him because his ears are too big. Unperturbed, Asa set out to persuade Tulpan that he would be an excellent prospect, weathering constant run-ins with his bullying brother-in-law.