The land in poor Hassan's Central Asian homeland is stony and lacks water. Every day, he gazes longingly at the well in the garden of the rich merchant Machmud, which is full to the brim. One day, Hassan's parrot sits on the edge of the well and is attacked by Machmud's guard dog. To save his only friend, Hassan has to kill the dog. The cadi then sentences him to take the place of the guard dog, chained up. When a horse is stolen, he also has to do its work. The slave girl Fatima is his only ray...