When a bomb endangers the Pha Tang temple, 'Satu' an orphan child laborer decides to head north through the rich and feral landscape of Laos in search of his long lost mother with his new photojournalist friend 'Bo'.
After being left on the temple doorsteps as a baby by his poor and widowed mother, Satu grows up as a Zungkhali in a small temple in the middle of Laos. A Zungkhali is a poor child that works for food and accommodation in a monastery or temple. One of the temple elders named Khuba Danay has guided him through his childhood, however, with a recent flood (Caused by recent rising temperatures) exposing thousands of unexploded American bombs across the village's farmland, the temple and village are now in danger. With the impending relocation of the entire village and temple, Satu is left without a potential future home.
Meanwhile, in Vientiane city, Bo, an eighteen-year-old student in her last year of school is desperately trying to escape an abusive family life. Her plan: to get into the university of Hanoi by studying photo-journalism.
Tasked with writing a special story for her application, her friend Sunti presses her to go out and make her fate. After stealing her father's moped she makes her way out of the city and into the countryside to find a special story to tell. Out on the open road and embracing adventure, Bo runs into trouble when her moped runs out of fuel.
By foot, she explores the nearby landscape and comes across Satu's temple. Their paths cross. Satu and Bo quickly become friends and both decide to look for Satu's long lost mother with the intention of Bo documenting their adventure for her application.
After being given the blessing by the temple to head north in search of his mother, Satu and Bo set out on what will be a tale of twists, turns, kidnappings, heartbreak, and personal growth in a true coming of age story in a far distant land.
Will they find Satu's mother? Will Bo escape the grasp of her abusive family life? Will the temple and village be saved from the nightmarish past of the secret war?
