In 1957, Chinghiz Aitmatov, a young Kyrgyz student from the Moscow Literature Institute, destined to become one of the great writers of our time, arrives at a Kyrgyz village to receive the blessing of Sayakbay Karalayev, the famous narrator of the epic poem Manas. Looking back upon his life, Sayakbay recalls a number of historical events which took place throughout Kyrgyz and Soviet history.