In the early spring, the Bakhtiari tribes of southern Iran prepare to leave their winter pastures in the Khuzestan province and trek over the Zagros Mountains to their summer pastures in Chahar Mahaal, as their ancestors have done for centuries. Jafar Qoli, the kalantar, or chief, of the Babadi sub-tribe, confers over tea and cooked lamb with a former rival, Ali Agha, the kalantar of another Bakhtiari tribe. Jafar plans to leave now and wants Ali’s tribe to move with him, but Ali says it is too soon because snow is still deep in the mountains and in the summer pastures. Undaunted, Jafar gathers his tribe, including Jalali, his young right-hand man; Bahman, his chief shepherd; Nessa, the second of his three wives; Mendeni, his former chief shepherd; Golbahar, Mendeni’s eight-year-old daughter; the widow Zenab; Zenab’s daughter, Iran, who stays close to Zenab despite being long past the age of marriage; and Nezam, Jafar’s poor cousin, whose ten children far outnumber his pack animals. Jafar’s other two wives will drive the long distance around the mountains in trucks and join the tribe later in the summer pastures; his sons, on the other hand, have gone off to school and to jobs in the oil fields, and it is unlikely they will ever return to the nomadic life. Jafar says that despite the temptation to make the much longer journey by road, the tens of thousands of sheep must constantly eat grass; also, the arduous trek has traditionally protected the Bakhtiari from outsiders. Jafar rides his horse to the nearest town, Lali, to buy provisions, including a new coat for Jalali. Most of Jafar’s purchases are on credit, and he complains that the traders will charge him exorbitant interest, despite Islam’s prohibition on usury. When it comes time to move, Jafar stands at the foot of the steep cliffs and hollers; his voice echoes off the stony face. Slowly, the Babadi gather their thousands of sheep, pack their mules and cattle, and begin their ascent from the pasture into the foothills. With Jafar’s permission, Rashidi, a trader, accompanies the tribe for safety. At their first campsite just below the mountains, the Babadi families individually brand their sheeps’ faces, because the animals will mingle as they travel the rough, narrow, and often treacherous paths ahead. After the tribe crosses the swollen Cholbar River, another kalandar invites Jafar as a guest of honor to an impromptu wedding, which needs to be consummated quickly because the headstrong young woman has already backed out of a wedding with a rich old man and continues to resist, even though her new husband-to-be is young and good looking. Jafar remembers the huge dowry in money and animals he had to pay for his third wife, but his wedding was important because it strengthened family connections. Later, the Babadi hurry down the first mountainside into the Shimbar Valley before a storm arrives and set up tents. Jafar laments that they must travel through land settled by the Mowri, known for their thievery, but since his sister, Lion Woman, is married to the Mowri kalantar, Jafar is treated with respect when he visits the family. He also helps Rashidi bargain over the price of sheep with Mowri tribesmen. As the Babadi leave the valley, they must take extra time to rebuild a stone ramp leading up the cliffs, because the Mowri have neglected it. The Babadi pass through another valley, cross another river, and move higher into the mountains. Herding the sheep and cattle up and down mountainous paths and through swift rivers is a joint effort among the nomadic tribes. Even the children tend to the lambs, sometimes carrying them on their shoulders. When the tribe reaches the Bazalt River, Jafar determines that the water level is too high to move the sheep across. The tribe will have to camp and wait to find an easier crossing. However, Bahman later orders the herdsmen to move the sheep into the water, and in the difficult crossing, Jalali is almost drowned and is temporarily incapacitated by exhaustion and shock. Jafar berates Bahman and threatens to fire him. Later, the tribe moves through a huge graveyard of massive carved stones. Four weeks have passed since they began, and they still must cross the 15,000-feet-high Zardeh Kuh, where the snow remains deep. They camp to regain their strength, then move again up the mountain. Once they cross the main pass, the Babadi hurry down a slope until they reach the summer pastures, where the various nomadic families spread out. Eight weeks have passed since the Babadi began their journey. Now come the happy times of weddings and feasts, and the animals will fatten with green grass nourished by months of snow. Jafar and his tribe will stay until the snow falls, then make the trek back over the Zagros Mountains to winter pastures.