The people around Tolen Mamytbekov, a driller in the geological team, didn’t think much of him — he was a disorganized man and fond of drinking. But everything in Tolen’s life changed when he met a modest, hardworking woman — the shepherdess Shaken.
A village boy awaits his father's return from the front. Though he doesn't yet know the alphabet, he begins composing letters and enrolls in school early to learn to write. He believes the Moon Witch — a figure from a fairytale — is behind all the misfortunes of war. In his dreams, he battles her on the moon as she casts black letters — death notices — down to Earth...
