Two historical incidents that deepened the friendship between Japan and Turkey are connected in this story of friendship and compassion: In the night of 16 September 1890 the Turkish frigate Ertuğrul is caught up in a typhoon and sinks off the Japanese coast. Risking their own lives, local villagers are able to rescue 69 Turkish sailors. Although being very poor and having hardly to eat, the villagers share what little they have with strangers from a country 9,000 kilometers away. 95 years later, during the Iran-Iraq War, more than 300 Japanese are stranded in Tehran. In the morning of 19 March 1985 a Turkish Airlines aircraft takes off for Tehran to evacuate the Japanese. But the remaining Turks at Tehran Mehrabad Airport still need to be convinced that they won't be able to board their own country's rescue flight.

Fatma is a young teacher in her own right during the years of oppression and fear following the September 12 coup. One day, on her way home, Fatma is stopped by the police who were checking the road. The police are looking for a militant named Şükran and they take Fatma into custody, even though they know she is not the person they are looking for. Although Fatma denies being Şükran during her interrogation at the police station, the interrogation turns into torture after a while. Fatma finally accepts that she is Şükran. When the real Şükran is caught, Fatma confronts the real Şükran, who was sent to the same prison, and denies her existence.