This film investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experience of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis. Amir brings that musical power to the viewer. The city of Peshawar serves as the urban centre for the male refugee population, where men go to look for work, to buy and sell goods, for recreation and for religious purposes. Amir is a professional musician who learnt his musical skills as an orphan in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan with strong musical traditions. Music is considered suspect in Islam and fundamentalist Afghan religious leaders had prohibited it in the camps where the majority of the refugees live. In exile Amir took up residence in the musician's quarter of Peshawar and worked in a band as a player of a rubab, a plucked lute, the national instrument of Afghanistan. Amir, and the band of which he is member, perform for both Pakistani and Afghan patrons and play political music as well as the romantic music of the past. Through following some of his daily activities, visiting a shrine, negotiating with patrons and socialising with friends and colleagues, we gain an insight into what it means to be an Afghan refugee.