White Sun of the Desert

Set on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, in what is now Turkmenistan, the story follows Fyodor Sukhov, a Red Army soldier who has spent several years fighting in the Russian Civil War in Central Asia. After being hospitalized and subsequently discharged, Sukhov begins his journey home to reunite with his wife, only to become involved in a skirmish between a Red Army cavalry unit and Basmachi guerrillas in the desert. The cavalry commander, Rahimov, persuades Sukhov to temporarily assist in protecting a group of women from the harem of the Basmachi leader Abdullah. Left in charge with the young Red Army soldier Petrukha, Sukhov accompanies the women back to a nearby coastal town. Meanwhile, Abdullah and his fighters, seeking a maritime route across the border, arrive at the same town.