The novel tells a real story of a girl named Stella Nudolskaya. She was 5 years old when in the year 1937 her father was arrested and she and her mother were sent from Moscow far on south-east to Kyrgyzstan. They, as many other people in Soviet Union, were called family members of an "enemy of the people". Despite the circumstances of the camp, exile and war - this story of growing up is written in a very bright way showing the world which can only be seen by the child who is gifted with a magic perception.

The story is real that is why it is told in an old archive. There are three storytellers who gather the story by picking pieces of it from different boxes where they carefully kept in before. The audience is located inside this archive.

The story is named after the nickname kirgizian children gave to Stella: her hair and skin is so white, they've never seen anybody like this before, they call her "Kant Bala" which means Sugar Child.