USSR, 1942. The Germans occupy this area, but a local group of partisans is fighting with determination against them. Sushenya, an innocent rail worker, is arrested, when a train derails. But the Germans decide to set him free, which is why rumor spreads about him being a traitor. So two partisans decide to get revenge. But while they led Sushenya through a forest, they are caught in an ambush. With his enemies wounded, Sushenya has to decide what to do...