A desolate, restless small town lost in the industrial wastelands of Kyrgyzstan. Plagued by boredom, confusion and sex - all the usual agonies of adolescence - 17-year-old "Chimp" (so called because of his ears) and his friends are killing time by fighting, partying and working in the railyard before undergoing their military service. "Chimp" has more than his share of problems: His pretty and capricious girlfriend causes him nothing but heartache, his father is a self-loathing chronic alcoholic, and his long-suffering mother has had enough. She leaves, taking "Chimp's" kis sister with her.