In the winter schools shut down for the icy season. This was the favorite time of year for Amir. The winter also meant the start of the kite fighting season. Kite fighting is a sport played among boys in Kabul who were Pashtun. It is a duel between the flyers in which the object is to cut the string of the other boys' kites. The string used to fly the kite is imbedded with glass, which allows the flyer to cut the others' string.

Amir was considered an above average flyer, so his father expected him to win the tournament being held in his district that year. While Amir flew the kite, Hassan fed the string and was also a kite runner. He was in Amir's estimation the best kite runner around. He had an innate sense of where the kite was going to land, after it had been cut loose from its flyer. The kite runners competed amongst themselves to see who could capture the most kites, with the most glory going to the boy who captured the last kite cut free.

Amir was jealous of Hassan's ability to run quickly and capture the kites. He was also jealous Baba spent as much on Hassan's kites as he did on Amir's. Amir tried desperately to attain some degree of closeness and respect from his father, but he didn't seem able to reach this goal. Amir felt as if his father was punishing him, because his mother died giving birth to him.

Amir's father thought this year, in the largest tournament in twenty-five years, his son would win. Amir wanted to win for himself and his father, because if he won then he felt his father may love him and like him. He knew his father viewed him as a failure, because he didn't conform to his ideal of what a young man should be, so he thought a win would change this attitude.

Amir was also jealous of Hassan, because he saw how his father treated the boy; Baba saw Hassan as the son he didn't have. Hassan was athletically inclined, he was not afraid to face bullies, and he was willing to do whatever Baba asked of him. Amir was not athletically inclined, instead he liked books, he was unwilling to engage in physical confrontations, and he was not always glad to do his father's bidding. But, he was determined to win the kite fighting tournament to please his father. What Amir didn't know was this would be the last time Hassan would run a kite.

The day of the kite fighting tournament Hassan told Amir he had a dream in which they both went into a lake, that was thought to contain a monster. They proved to everyone the monster was just a myth. This dream came in handy for Hassan when Amir decided he was too scared to participate in the tournament. He was frightened, because he saw his father watching him from their home's rooftop. He knew what was expected of him, but he was not sure he could win the tournament.

Hassan reminded him the monster did not exist, which Amir translated to mean he could win the tournament. Though there were forty-eight kites in the tournament, Amir kept cutting out his competitors until it came down to him and a boy flying a blue kite. The two battled for a short time and then Amir had the blue kite in a position from which it could not escape. He skillfully cut the string, which made him the winner of the tournament. He and Hassan rejoiced in their win. Amir saw his father cheering for him. It was the greatest moment of his life. Baba told the boys he wanted the blue kite, so Hassan ran for it. He was smiling without reservation as he ran for the kite. It would be the last time Amir would see that smile for twenty-six years. The next time he saw Hassan's smiling face, it would be in an old photograph.

After Amir gave his kite to Ali, to keep for him, he ran off in search of Hassan. He snaked his way through the streets of his district asking people if they had seen Hassan. Finally, a man in the bazaar told him he had seen Hassan with the kite, but he was being chased by some boys.

Amir first heard the commotion in the alley before he saw Hassan being confronted by Assef and his friends. Assef wanted the kite and he wanted to make Hassan pay for his actions on the day after the coup. Amir peeked around a corner to see what was happening to his playmate/servant. He saw that Hassan was ready to fight to keep the kite. This was because Hassan was incapable of welching on a promise. He was the kind of person who always said what he meant, no matter what the consequences might be to himself. He promised to give Amir the kite and he would suffer whatever was necessary to keep his word.

Assef decided he can keep the kite, but it came at a price. The price, from which Hassan couldn't escape, was the horrible violation of being sodomized by Assef. Amir could have stepped up and tried to stop it, but he didn't. He was afraid of Assef and he wanted the kite for his father. His life changed in the moment he decided to keep quiet and let Hassan be violated. Neither boy would ever be the same.

Afterward, Hassan though greatly upset, would not speak of what happened and Amir acted as if he didn't know about it. Back home Amir's father received him as he had dreamed of, with open arms.

Amir's desire to win the kite fighting tournament to please his father is achieved, but Hassan pays a terrible price to bring back the loser's kite. The bully, who violated him changed both his and Amir's lives forever.