After perestroika in the Soviet Union there is a total collapse of the Soviet system, which leads to chaos in the country. The protagonist of the film, a foreign student, after graduation does not want to return to his country because of the military coup that took place there. But the Soviet government gave clear deadlines for him to leave the country.

A mother can't stand her son, a sister can't stand her brother, a woman in love can't stand her lover... Love communication brings them neither joy nor liberation, giving them only some oblivion. All this is determined by the atmosphere of fear...

The events take place in the XIX century, in the Carpathian mountains. It is the screen adaptation of the novel by Hnat Khotkevych based on the legend of brave leaders who fought against the Austrian Habsburgs and the Polish magnates for the happiness and freedom of its people. And also it is a romantic story about a fatal overwhelming love.

This movie is based on a novel by Boris Vasiliev and describes life in a small Russian provincial town in 1940 - one year before Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The main characters of the film are ordinary Soviet high school students. They study in the Soviet school, try to be correct and ideological Komsomol activists. But not always the “correctness” suggested by the teachers coincides with the inner convictions of young souls - it is difficult for them to come to terms with the fact that their relatives and loved ones are suddenly “enemies of the people”.