Asa is a young Russian naval service dreamer who returns to his sister's nomadic brood on the desloate Hunger Steppe to begin a hardscrabble career as a shepherd. But before he can tend a flock of his own, Asa must win the hand of the only eligible bachelorette for miles, his alluringly mysterious neighbor Tulpan. Accompanied by his girlie magazine-reading sidekick, Asa will stop at nothing to prove he is a worthy husband and herder.