Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father a nd resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - fo r he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan a nd Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage a nd the place he holds in his father’s heart. But neither of the boys could fo r esee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade a nd the family is fo r ced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new wo r ld cannot grant him: redemption.