After a year of studying at the Suvorov School, 13-year-old Vovka Kulikov returns to his native Siberian village. The boy learns that his father, the chairman of the collective farm, has gone to the front, and meanwhile problems are falling on the village: a gang of mysterious robbers is terrorizing local residents and endangering the timely harvest. Vovka decides to stand up for his family and friends and confronts the bandits.