Istanbul. After losing her Kurdish husband to political persecution, the widow Sukran is very careful how she brings up her only son Veysel, determined to keep him away from the kind of activities that led to his father’s death. But one day the teen-ager disappears. At first, Sukran does not want to believe that Veysel has followed in his father’s footsteps. But when she approaches the authorities, she soon learns that the police are more an obstacle than an aid in her search for her son. Nonetheless, and despite signs to the contrary, she believes Veysel is still alive and so sets out to find him on her own. The trail leads Sukran to the city of Mardin in southeast Turkey. There she meets German journalist Gerhard who provides the first positive clue to the boy’s whereabouts. With hope, she proceeds...