Retired army general decides to return to his home land and help people to build a better future.

A Few Amusing Episodes from the Life of the Village of Golodranka One day, a young peasant named Stepan lost his mare, who ran off pulling a cart full of hay. Stepan spent the whole day scouring the forest roads in search of her—only to find the stubborn beast calmly standing in his own yard. Furious, he swore to chop her to pieces with an axe. Another fellow, Artyom, ran away from home to escape his quarrelsome wife. He climbed down into the deepest village well and flatly refused to come out until his wife swore never to scold or hit him again. But what truly amused the villagers—both men and women—was Roman Sotsky’s antics. With a straight face, he assured a frightened constable that the strange man who had appeared in the village was "clearly a pure-blooded Sicilist."

After returning from the army, Sasha learns that Tonya, whom he loves, met another guy, became a mother, is raising a child and works in an oil field in the Gomel region. Sasha goes to the oil field to see Tonya for a possible explanation.

The Great Patriotic War. Seven peasants from the village of Dalva are transporting collected grain by wagon to the village of Tartak. On the way, they are stopped by Nazi punitive forces. To shield themselves from the bullets of local resistance fighters, the soldiers force the peasants to march at the front of their column. Suddenly, the partisans launch an attack on the Germans.