In Kabul, before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, wealthy teenager Amir and his loyal Hazara servant Hassan (the son of his father's servant Ali) are best friends. Amir goes to school, but Hassan doesn't; consequently he cannot read. Amir likes literature and reads stories to Hassan. His father Baba (a Persian term similar to "papa" in English) thinks he is not tough enough, Amir lets Hassan protect him when he is bullied. Amir fears that Baba doesn't like him because Amir's mother died giving birth to him. Amir also writes a story. Amir's father isn't very interested, but his friend Rahim Khan reads it and encourages him. One day Hassan and Amir meet Assef, a bully with a grudge against the Hazaras, and his two friends. He prepares to fight Amir and Hassan, but Hassan threatens him with his slingshot. They back down but Assef warns them that he will take revenge. Amir and Hassan like kite fighting. It is a popular sport in Kabul, in which lines are coated with a mixture of finely crushed glass and glue, to cut a competitor's line. In the competition, whoever catches a kite with cut line can hold it. So the children run for them. Hassan is Amir's "kite runner". He seems to have the gift of knowing where they will land. Amir wins a tournament. Hassan goes to get the kite that Amir cut, but encounters Assef and his two henchmen. Assef demands the kite, but Hassan refuses to give it up. For this reason Assef beats him. The film briefly shows Assef's trouser buckle being undone and Hassan's trousers being pulled down, suggesting that a sexual assault follows. While looking for Hassan, Amir approaches this scene and, hiding, observes the assault. He does not defend Hassan, nor does he ask for help. Amir and Hassan never tell anyone what happened and they don't talk about it to each other. When Amir returns home he is finally praised by Baba for winning the tournament, but Amir realizes that the opposite would have happened if Baba had known what had happened. Amir and Hassan both become emotionally dejected. Amir feels guilty for being a coward, realizing that Hassan was brave; if Baba knew what happened, he might love Hassan more than him. Amir decides it would be best if Hassan left.