Parvana (Saara Chaudry) is a young girl living in Kabul, Afghanistan, under the control of the Taliban. Her father Nurullah (Ali Badshah), who is a teacher was left impaired during The Soviet-Afghan War and became a hawker, is unjustly arrested after a volatile young member of the Taliban, Idrees (Noorin Gulamgaus), thinks he insulted him while the two were selling goods in the market in Kabul. Parvana's family is left without an adult male relative, as her elder brother Sulayman died years ago, leaving her, her mother Fattema (Laara Sadiq), her elder sister Soraya (Shaista Latif) and her baby brother Zaki without means to support the family, as they are not allowed to go out without a male relative. After Parvana unsuccessfully tries to procure food while going out as a girl, she decides to dress as a boy and pretend to be Nurullah's nephew, "Aatish," in order to support the family. Parvana frequently entertains Zaki by telling the story of a young man on a journey to retrieve the seeds stolen by the evil Elephant King.The ploy works, and Parvana is able to get food and money. On the advice of Shauzia, (Soma Bhatia) another young girl dressing as a boy to support her family, Parvana goes to the prison where her father is held to try to bribe the guards into letting her see him. The plan fails, and Parvana is driven away. She works to save money to get a larger bribe, taking on hard labor jobs with Shauzia, who is trying to save enough money to escape her abusive father. Meanwhile, Fattema is forced to write to a relative in Mazar-i-Sharif, offering Soraya up for marriage in exchange for shelter and protection. Parvana also meets Razaq (Kawa Ada), who was with Idrees when her father was arrested; the illiterate Razaq pays her to read him a letter that reveals that his wife, Hawla, was killed by a mine on the way to a wedding. He befriends her and continues to meet with her so that she can teach him to read and write.Parvana and Shauzia take a hard labor job where Idrees is also in attendance. He recognizes her, and tries to kill her as she flees with Shauzia. Parvana and Shauzia manage to hide, and Idrees is abruptly called away to fight in a war that has just begun. When Parvana returns home, Fattema pleads with her to stop the dangerous ploy, telling her that her relatives accepted Soraya and that they will be collected the day after next. Parvana agrees on the condition that she visits Nurullah in prison to inform him where they will be living, as Razaq has a cousin that lives there that will let her in. She tearfully bids farewell to Shauzia, promising that they will meet 20 years from then. However, as Parvana travels to the prison, Fattema's cousin arrives early and forces them to come with him without Parvana, as the war is starting and the roads will soon be blocked. Fattema eventually stands up to her cousin, refusing to let him take them further, and he leaves the family stranded in the road.Parvana arrives at the prison, where she finds Razaq. After Parvana reveals that she is Nurullah's daughter, Razaq informs her that his cousin has left to fight, but he will retrieve Nurullah; the prison is being cleared out of weak prisoners unable to fight, and Parvana witnesses their execution. A terrified Parvana gathers her courage to stay by finishing the tale of the boy, who she turns into Sulayman, revealing that he died after picking up a "toy" in the street, which was actually a land mine that exploded. Razaq is attacked while rescuing the weak Nurullah, but is wounded non-fatally and reunites father and daughter. Parvana takes Nurullah away, where they will soon reunite with the rest of the family, as the two continue the story they were telling each other at the start of the film.