Inspired by the Communist president Najibullāh's grand project to bring about reconciliation with the mujahidin, the story of Baba concerns two small villages drawn into conflict by a murder, a revenge plot, and the dishonorable dealings of a spy. The villages are finally reconciled by the advice of a wise old man, Baba, who has kept out of all the quarrels that have separated everybody else by retiring to a cave. The character of Baba is based on a real hermit, Baba Firoz, who lived in a cave in Goldara surrounded by tame animals and supposedly lived to be 127 years old.