A seemingly ordinary boy discovers he is the highest ranking Tibetan monk reincarnated from a past, giving him the noble title of Rinpoche. Displaced in his reincarnation in Ladakh due to the political instability in Tibet, he is separated from his former monastery. Filmed over 7 years, the young reincarnate faces questions of survival, coming-of-age, and serving a sacred order. With one aging godfather on the backdrop of the biting Himalayan Mountains, Rinpoche sets on a dangerous journey to find his place in the world.