When reformed ex-smuggler Pamfir returns home to his village on the Ukrainian border after working abroad for several years, he’s determined to earn an honest living and set a good example for his beloved teenage son Nazar. But in a town where corruption runs deep and crime and religion are inextricably linked, his plan is quickly thwarted when Nazar sets fire to the local church in a misguided effort to keep him at home. To pay for the damage, Pamfir must take on one last job for a crime syndicate operating a risky smuggling venture in a place where all the rules have changed.
The film takes place in late 1941 in Transcarpathia. Soviet paratroopers landed on the territory occupied by the Hortists. Of the six, only Olexa Borkanyuk manages to bypass the ambush. However, the Nazis, taking local people hostage, threaten to punish them if he doesn't voluntarily surrender. For the sake of saving the lives of people, Olexa goes to the camp of the enemy. The film is based on real facts from the life of the writer and journalist, Hero of the Soviet Union Olexa Borkanyuk.
Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko goes for a walk in Kyiv. Along the way, his memory takes him back in time: first to his childhood in the village of Hrynky; to May 1861, when he attended Taras Shevchenko's funeral; to a trip to Leipzig; to the time when he was working on the opera "Taras Bulba"; to the images of Olha O'Connor and Olha Lypska, who gave him love, happiness, and inspiration.
