The film tells the story of a Muslim old man in a remote village in Xihaigu, Ningxia, where droughts occur nine out of ten years. His wife passed away. The old man and his son decided to slaughter the old cow that had accompanied him for more than ten years on the anniversary of his wife's death to save the deceased. In the following days, the old man and his son took good care of the cow, and also showed their reluctance to part with the cow and their longing for their wife. Three days before the anniversary of the death, the cow saw the knife that was going to slaughter it in the water it drank, so it stopped eating and drinking in order to end its life with a clean inner body. After that, the old man fell into thinking about life and death.