After the navigator's death, the border combat helicopter's captain receives the task of flying to the coast to guard the border.
Twelve-year-old Pavlukha lives on a fishing farm with his mother. His father left his family long ago, in which, apart from Paulukha, he has two other children. To help his mother somehow, the boy goes to town to earn money...
Siberia, 1930s. Ten-year-old Ilka runs away from home to escape his stepmother and joins a team of loggers rafting wood along the Mana River. Here, the young hero learns the dangerous trade and finds friends.