The film relates the story of a surgeon (Doctor Pārsā) who returns to Iran after living in Germany for 33 years. Arriving in Tehran, Doctor Pārsā performs a heart operation on the nephew of the family friend Mr Ghanāti. Mr Ghanāti urges him to travel with him to his home town, Bam. On the trip, they drive past the rubble and destruction and Pārsā remembers back to his childhood.[citation needed]