Set in Majidi's native Tehran, the film begins with Ali (Mohammad Amir Naji) sitting beside a shoemaker who is repairing a tiny pair of worn shoes that belong to his little sister Zahra (Bahare Seddiqi). Ali then carries the shoes to a fruit market and leaves them outside the door unattended to buy some potatoes. Unfortunately, a garbageman accidentally picks up the shoes, hidden in a bag and takes them away.
Ali's family, whose poverty makes it necessary for the children to bear many adult responsibilities, is behind on the rent for their tiny, one-room apartment. Ali fears to tell his parents about the mishap since his father (Reza Naji) who is employed in an office, would have to borrow money to buy Zahra another pair of shoes, but without the shoes Zahra can't go to school. So the children come up with their own solution: they decided to share Ali's equally worn Converse sneakers since they go to school at different times. Zahra will wear them to school in the morning and race back to return them to Ali at midday so he can attend afternoon classes. However, this uncomfortable arrangement between him and his sister leads to one adventure after another as they attempt to hide it from their parents and teachers and a matter of time when even Ali's shoes will wear out.
Finally, Ali enters a high-profile children's long distance footrace in the school. The third prize is one week at a vacation camp and a pair of brand new sneakers which he promises that he will win for the sneakers to Zahra ... ...
A wonderful and moving film revolving around Ali and Zahra and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes in a typical Iranian village and family, where a simple standard daily belongings to us turns to be a pure decadence to them.
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