A village in the highlands of eastern Anatolia. As is required by age-old tradition, families here celebrate circumcision with a feast. Little Mert is to undergo the procedure but his father İsmail has no money to pay for the feast. His mother Medine ekes out a meagre living collecting willow rods. Nobody is willing to give them the lamb that must be served to their guests. Mert’s sister terrifies her brother by explaining that, should their father fail to find a lamb, he will have to slaughter his own son …