Four children from a mountain village are convinced by the oldest of them to take a difficult journey through the steppe to the railroad, which lies on the path of the ancient Great Silk Road. A train hurries by the children. The different destinies of the grown-ups on the train pass by in front of the kids. There is an artist supplementing his income by doing drawings on the train. His railcar is taken over by a group of hooligans and they throw the artist out of the train. The philosophical beginning and the end meet: the thrown out artist and children trying to get on the train. The oldest child rushes after the artist and begs to take him along. The rest of the children return home with an old shepherd.