A staggering historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil of the East Asian civilization of Otrar, before its systematic destruction at the hands of Genghis Khan.

Closely based on Franz Kafka's book "Das Schloß", the movie shares the same action on a land surveyor who is called to a village to do a job that no one seems to have ordered. Once there, he takes up the struggle against bureaucracy emanating from the castle.