Mirtemir is growing up in Nukus, a dusty city caught between the desert and the dead Aral Sea. His mother has moved away to earn money in a neighboring country Kazakhstan, and Tima lives with his blind grandmother. He waits tables at a fast-food joint during the day and entertains people at a mobile karaoke by night. Days full of hard work and responsibility, too demanding even for an adult, are nonetheless full of joy and adolescent bliss.