Veliky Ustyug at the beginning of the 17th century. Semyon Dezhnyov falls in love with the daughter of a rich merchant — Avdotya, but the groom is poor. The girl's father sets a condition: Dezhnyov must go to Siberia and get rich — only then will he receive consent to marry. Dezhnyov agrees and leaves for Siberia. Although he passes the test, he does not return to Avdotya. He finds a strait "from a warm sea to a cold one": from the mouth of the Kolyma he swims to the Pacific Ocean and opens the strait between the continents.

Gorgeously shot in the wide-open Siberian wilderness this outdoor adventure chronicles the dramatic escape of a big-city bred violinist from a Siberian labor camp. Underlying the action is the tale of a man who learns to become one with his environment rather than trying to dominate it. The story begins as enigmatic, Asian tribesman Toli comforts the starved violinist Dimitri that they will be escaping soon. They get their chance when a beautiful herd of Yakut horses begin grazing placidly near where the two are toiling. Sneaking away from the others, they grab tow hand steeds and race off. Unfortunately, Toli is mortally wounded. Just before he dies, he tells Dimitri that he is a powerful shaman and then hands the fiddler a protective amulet. In this way, Toli becomes Dimitri's guardian spirit. The city youth will need all the help he can get as he and his horse must traverse the unforgiving wilds and keep away from guards, alone.

The Red Army squadron is trying to escape from the enemy while carrying a huge load of rare furs to be sold abroad.