As Bayinbulag (now played by the Mongolian pop singer Tengger) is about to enter adulthood, his father suddenly writes and orders him into the city to study veterinary science.

She also confesses that she has told her daughter, Qiqig (Aojirdai) that her true father will come back one day, using a description of Bayinbulag to describe him.

Back home, Bayinbulag suddenly finds himself in the position of being a father-figure for the girl, who believes that he is her biological father.

[4] That did not stop the reviewer from finding the film a "compelling romance in a land whose hard realities never yield to anything so insignificant as human dreams".

[1] Andrew Johnston, writing in Time Out New York, observed "This Tale's greatest assets are panoramic vistas of Mongolia's open spaces, courtesy of cinematographer Fu Jingsheng.