Azamat and Tansholpan are an ordinary young couple, living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet. Their married life started in debt after taking out a large loan for their wedding, which barely covered half of the costs. Azamat spends nearly all of his time driving a taxi, which he leased on credit, while Tansholpan works as a waitress to help pay for their rented apartment and cover the numerous small debts they've accumulated in their attempt to "live like everyone else." From morning to night, they are bombarded by calls from banks demanding overdue payments and by friends and relatives, to whom they’ve borrowed multiple times.
One day, a series of unfortunate events sets their life even further off track. Azamat, arguing with a difficult client, crashes into a tree. Meanwhile, Tansholpan, overwhelmed by severe morning sickness due to her pregnancy, suddenly vomits in front of a customer. Exhausted and disheartened, they return home, where they’re confronted by their friend Damir, who is fed up with Azamat’s failure to pay him back. With nowhere else to turn, Damir gives Azamat one last warning. Humiliated and desperate, Azamat steps outside to smoke but realizes he can't even afford a cigarette. In a moment of complete despair, he goes to a store and begs the clerk to give him cigarettes on credit. She refuses, pointing instead to a charity donation box, where he grabs it in a moment of impulse and runs out of the store.
Returning home with groceries, his mood is lifted until a he sees mother in front of his apartment. She’s furious over the unpaid loans he took out in her name for the wedding. Feeling cornered, Azamat sees the sticker and, on impulse, lies to her, saying Tansholpan is gravely ill and all their money is going to her treatment. Shocked, his mother immediately forgives him and sends additional funds, wishing Tansholpan a speedy recovery. Relatives follow suit, sending money to help, and this sparks a "brilliant" idea in Azamat’s mind: why not start a fundraising campaign for Tansholpan’s “treatment” to pay off all their debts?
After much persuasion, Tansholpan reluctantly agrees to pretend to be sick, but only on the condition that they will settle their debts and stop there. Azamat shaves her head to make the act more convincing, and he does the same to gain sympathy from the public. To avoid suspicion, they turn to their friend Damir, who works in an oncology center, and bribe him to forge medical tests. Soon, they create a fundraising page, post a heart-wrenching video, and it all results in large donations pouring in. They get addicted to the easy money and begin fantasizing about living a luxurious life.
Their popularity soars, with everyone admiring their seemingly perfect love story. The public especially falls in love with Azamat, the devoted husband who stood by his wife in her time of need. The adoration gets to Azamat’s head, and he decides to organize a grand charity gala, with auctioned items benefiting Tansholpan’s "treatment." After raising a substantial amount at the event, Damir approaches them and demands a larger payout, given their newfound wealth. Azamat, still bitter from his earlier humiliation, refuses.
