Bessarabia on the eve of World War II... Soldier Ștefan Brebu is being taken to trial in a prison car as a witness. The escorts were ordered to shoot him on the way "at attempt to escape." A soldier can give testimony in court that is undesirable for the authorities: it was not communists who were shooting at unarmed peasants...
Mikhail is fascinated by the ideas of the Decembrists about a Russia free from the tyranny of the Tsar. After graduating from military school, he goes abroad. Upon returning to Russia, a tragic life awaits him.
