The daredevil pilot Sergei Belyaev takes a risk flying a plane which is not properly maintained and crashes dangerously, landing in hospital, his plane going up in smoke. The aviation student Galya Bystrova, having a crush with Belyaev, unfortunately tends to imitate him in the air. Later, heeding the advice of the wise headmaster Rogachev, they become experienced pilots. Bystrova is assigned to Pamir, and Rogachev, in love with her, is sent to Sakhalin.

Soviet filmmaker Yuri Raisman once more combines political dogma with solid entertainment values in Dream of a Cossack (aka Cavalier of the Golden Star). The title character, played by future director Sergei Bondarchuk (and billed for obscure reasons as Semyon Bondarchuk), is an ex-soldier who returns home to the Kuban region, there to take up life as a farmer. Instead, he galvanizes the local citizenry into participating in a massive construction project, which will result in a new power station and canal. Thus does Raisman offer an prime example of Russian collectivism while making it seem as though it had sprung from individual initiative. Dream of a Cossack is based on a popular novel by S. Babayefsky.