Pressured by family and society to divorce his wife because her mother is a prostitute, Nazar takes on double shifts to repay the loan from his hasty wedding and to keep sending money to Reyhaneh, the sweet bride he jilted. When he falls behind on payments, he runs from the police and winds up in the desert alongside a silent old man who captures venomous snakes for their poison. The two are stuck together there, since Nazar refuses to go back to the city and hopes to earn enough by catching snakes to clear his debts. His endless chatter irritates the taciturn old man—until Nazar's life is put in danger.