During World War II, earnest young Russian soldier Alyosha Skvortsov (Volodya Ivashov) is rewarded with a short leave of absence for performing a heroic deed on the battlefield. Feeling homesick, he decides to visit his mother. Due to his kindhearted nature, however, Alyosha is repeatedly sidetracked by his efforts to help those he encounters, including a lovely girl named Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko). In his tour of a country devastated by war, he struggles to keep hope alive.