At the age of ten Merywan Rashaba's life is shattered when the local Mullah declares him a neuter, neither a boy nor a girl, and therefore a doomed child. Merywan is terrified. If his father gets to know about his gender ambiguity, he will put a knife to his throat. Growing up as a Kurd in Saddam's Iraq, he feels he doesn't belong to this twisted society, but finds inspiration and comfort in the magic world of cinema. He secretly writes letters to his hero, Clint Eastwood, whom he calls Gringo, begging him to help him escape to America. As his plans are disrupted, Merywan is drawn deeper into a dark roller-coaster ride of savagery, passion, betrayal and heroism, which makes the movies he adores almost seem trivial by comparison.