Against the wishes of his impoverished mother, 13-year-old Florya (Kravchenko) joins the partisan struggle to push Hitler's troops out of Byelorussia. As a youthful newcomer, Florya is left behind at a forest post with beautiful Glasha (Miranova), the teen lover of his unit's battle-scarred captain. After a terrifying air raid leaves Florya deaf and disoriented, the two return to his home village together, only to encounter horror worse than any imaginable on the front. Thus begins Florya's long, soul-crushing journey into the nightmare of war.