The action takes place against the backdrop of a looming war. Soviet intelligence intercepts an order from the high command of Nazi Germany to cross the Soviet border.

In the fall of 1920, when the Red Army fought on the outskirts of Novorossiysk, one of the best ships of the Russian fleet “Oryol” stood at the berths of the port. The ship's boatswain, the hiding communist Mikhail Gruzdev, convinced Captain Chistyakov to keep the Eagle and return it to the red flag. Soon the legendary ship aboard the White Guards pursued by the Red Army left Novorossiysk. History left no trace of the further fate of the "Eagle" and its crew. It was believed that Chistyakov handed over the ship to the White Guards, and they took him abroad. Many years later, the captain of the ship “Flounder” Mikhail Gruzdev, confident in Chistyakov’s uncompromising attitude, obtained permission - and set about searching for the missing ship.

Three stories based on O. Henry novels. (1) Bob Tidball recovers $30,000 in pristine credit cards from a bandit’s sack and races across the plains until his horse breaks its leg. Forced to mount Dodson’s stallion, he’s ambushed and killed by “Shark” Dodson, who seizes the entire loot. (2) A thief slips through a third-floor window to steal a stack of bills from a sleeping gentleman’s dressing table. When the homeowner awakens and raises only one hand against the revolver—his other immobilized by a sudden rheumatic attack—the would-be robber reconsiders his plan. (3) Sam and Bill, two small-time grifters short $2,000 for their swindle, decide to kidnap Ebeneger Dorset’s young son. They demand exactly that sum as ransom, setting in motion a desperate bargain.

A little girl is lost in Moscow and hits the road making fun (not intentionally) of everybody she meets. She'll be back home soon but she will change the life of at least one man forever...

Tanya Morozova, an illiterate but industrious textile factory worker, finds happiness through her education and the Stakhanovite movement. She becomes a shock labourer and ascends through the Party ranks, ultimately being elected as a member of the Supreme Soviet.