In a Russian POW camp, four Germans determined to end WWII change into Red Army uniforms. Are they patriots or traitors, heroes or opportunists? Although they go to the frontlines, their new Russian comrades are initially unsure whether to trust them. Three of them then accept a mission behind German lines, but they are unprepared to fire upon their countrymen and it ends up costing the life of a Russian soldier. In the meantime, the fourth man has fallen in love with Russian radio operator Svetlana. After being criticized by the other Russians, he too agrees to participate in the mission… This film, which centers on the difficult moral questions raised in wartime, draws on director Konrad Wolf's experiences as a propaganda officer with the Red Army in Germany at the end of WWII. Wolf saw this film—which was inspired by the 1934 Russian war film Chapaev and featured actor Donatas Banionis (Solaris, Goya, Beethoven – Days of a Life, Solaris)—as a consolidation and continuation of what he wanted to express in his 1967 film I Was Nineteen.