On the banks of the dried up Aral Lake in Uzbekistan, Orazbaj is eager for a change now that his way of life, fishing, is gone. However, his elderly father steadfastly believes the water will return. Still, Orazbaj takes off for a better life. He stows away on a cargo freighter, docking in a place he belives to the US but is, instead, Rotterdam harbor. He is taken in by a crew member's wife, Katharina, whose husband is frequently away for long periods of time. He is soon embraced as a family member and begins a relationship with the lonely woman. On his return, Katharina's husband betrays Orazbaj to the immigration police sending the young man home forever changed.