In Crimea, Ukraine, in 1942, the tide of war seems to be turning, and the Red Army, which had been on the verge of defeat, is gradually gaining ground against the Wehrmacht, which is now in retreat. Then a lieutenant who has escaped from German forced labor, and who according to Stalin's orders should be shot as a traitor, reports on a German secret weapon located close to the front line. A special commando unit, consisting of comrades of the condemned man, investigates and finds children believed to be dead.