The Crying Steppe, 1920-30s in Kazakhstan, during the Great Famine caused by the Bolsheviks, where 70% of the native population died. A family of eagle hunters from a Kazakh village in the highlands struggles to survive in the midst of a brutal winter, facing the terrifying fear of death and hopelessness. They are confronted with a moral dilemma: to die as humans or to do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means violating human ethics.