Belarus, 1942. It is the height of the Nazi occupation, and the partisan movement is alive. Not far from the village where Sushchenya lives, a train is blown up. Sushchenya was not involved in the bombing but is captured by Polizeis along with a group of saboteurs. He is eventually set free as bait for the partisans. However, the news of his supposed betrayal spreads, and partisans Burov and Voitik come to his farm to avenge the death of their comrades. Sushchenya convinces them to not harm his family, and they end up taking him into the woods to murder him but are ambushed along the way. Desperate to stay alive, Sushchenya faces a moral choice.