In November, 1942, near the Volga, Stanlingrad is under siege of Commander Friederich Paulus and his 330,000 men. The Russian high command unleashes an operation to protect the Mishkova River to avoid that about four hundred tanks join Paulus' army. The Soviet artillery soldiers protect their position with their lives in a bloodshed with few survivors.
Two curious first-graders decide to steal a turtle named Rocket from a living corner to conduct a risky experiment — they want to put it under the tank in order to check the carrying capacity and strength of the shell. But their classmate Tanya is smarter than her friends: with the help of adults, she manages to organize the rescue of the unfortunate turtle.
Soviet intelligence spouses — Lyudmila ("Lyre") and Fyodor ("Starling") Grekov at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War are tasked with settling in Germany. Personnel intelligence officers with vast experience are successfully introduced into German society and begin to work actively. At the end of the war, during the bombing of Berlin, fate separates them, but then they will meet in the new Germany and continue their work.
