| Director | Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film |
| Runtime | 114 min |
| Country | Turkey |
In Turkey, several prisoners are granted temporary leave from prison. One of them, Seyit Ali (Tarık Akan), travels to his house and discovers that, in order to survive, his wife Zine (Şerif Sezer) had to turn to prostitution. Caught by her family, she was held captive for eight months so that Seyit Ali would end her life in an honour killing. Although seemingly determined to do that initially, he changes his mind when he realizes that his wife is freezing while travelling in the snow. Despite his efforts to keep her alive, he ultimately fails, and his wife's death relieves Seyit Ali from family pressure.
Another prisoner, Mehmet Salih (Halil Ergün), has been arrested for his role in a heist with his brother-in-law, whom he abandoned as police shot at him. His in-laws disown him, and he is finally forced to tell his wife Emine () the truth. Emine and Mehmet Salih decide to run away on a train. On the train, they are caught in the washroom about to have sex. They are saved from an angry mob by the train's officers and held in a cabin. A young boy from Emine's family, who had earlier threatened to kill them, boards the train and shoots both Mehmet Salih and Emine.
Ömer (Necmettin Çobanoğlu) returns to his village, situated near the border between Turkey and Syria, and arranges to cross the border to escape prison. Ömer finds his village in a battle between Kurdish smugglers and Turkish soldiers. Though Ömer is clearly determined to leave, he gives up the idea after his brother, who took part in the battle, is shot dead. Through his brother's death, Ömer inherits the responsibility for his late brother's family and becomes the husband to his late brother's wife, as dictated by tradition, despite his attraction to a young woman in the village.