The mayor of a village sees her son killed in a gun accident. A successful, dedicated bureuacrat, she must reconcile her desire to build a bridge - and the new housing that will come with it - with the reality of resistance from the townspeople and her own grief.

A pair of peasant children, Mytyl and her brother Tyltyl, are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the Fairy Berylune. On their journey, they are accompanied by the humanized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, Bread, and other entities.

In January 1945 during WWII, German corporal Kaspar and a Russian fugitive become partners in survival.

Prokhor Lykov, nicknamed Vodyany in the village for his passion for fishing, always disappeared on the shore of the lake with a fishing rod. The chairman of the collective farm decides to use his enthusiasm in his own way ...