The main character, 13-year-old Vovka, returns to his native village after a year spent at the Suvorov Military School. The boy learns that his father, the chairman of the collective farm, has gone to the front, and in the meantime, serious problems are befalling the village one after another: a gang of mysterious robbers is terrorizing local residents and threatening the timely harvest. Vovka decides to stand up for her family and friends and enters into a confrontation with the bandits.
