Hassan runs down kites for Amir. Amir is the master's son, while Hassan his servant Ali's, and belongs to the Hazara race. Amir is a good storyteller, but a weakling. Hassan on the other hand is aggressive and strong-minded. Both are good friends, Hassan willing to go to any extent to protect Amir.

Their lives take a turn when Assef, an older child, along with his two friends one day sodomises Hassan. Amir witnesses the incident, but being weak-hearted doesn't do anything to defend Hassan. And further, he acts as if nothing happened. But, from thereon he starts trying to get Hassan away from him, probably because it acts as a reminder to him that he is weak hearted.

As the war in Afghanistan starts, they have to flee Kabul. They end up in California where his father works in a gas station and he is a struggling writer. He's just got married to Soraya (AL), a beautiful Afghan girl. One day he receives a call from his uncle Rahim Khan (ST), asking him to come to Pakistan. There he comes to know that Hassan and his wife have been killed trying to protect their house from the Taliban. And his son is currently in an orphanage. When he resists to go protect the child, Rahim Khan reveals a secret to him. Hassan was his brother and the child is his nephew.

Will Hassan manage to overcome his cowardice and save the child?