In 1988, the Armenian city Gyumri was struck by a severe earthquake, in which tens of thousands of people lost their lives. Today, the consequences are still omnipresent. In this city, thirteen-year-old Warush is growing up. The pigeons are the boy's best friends. Warush lives with his grandmother. Instead of going to school, he hangs around the local cemetery. The older cemetery gardeners, stonemasons, and the clergyman, Father Tatul, are honestly trying to set the boy on the right track. Like a fresco, the film tells of growing up, of life and passing in a unknown world.