The Tale of Aypi follows the fate of a group of Turkmen fishermen dwelling on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The fear of losing their ancestral home looms over the entire village. This injustice is being made to look like a voluntary initiative on the part of the fishermen themselves, whilst the ruling powers cynically attempt to confiscate their land.

In 2004, Sam Tranum moved to Turkmenistan, an isolated, totalitarian petrostate bordering Iran and Afghanistan, to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer. That same year, the Economist magazine predicted his new home would be the worst place in the world to live, despite the fact that its leader, known as Turkmenbashy, insisted that his country was experiencing a Golden Age.