A girl named Katya meets a boy Mitya on the street. He loves animals, but his mother won't let them at their house no more. He looks for another place for his pets and so he lets Katya to take the animals to her home for a day.

Based on the novel of the same name by Konstantin Fedin. 1910. A small town in the Volga region. Kirill Izvekov, a student of a technical school, is only looking for his place in life, and revolutionary struggle is unfolding around him.

During World War II, earnest young Russian soldier Alyosha Skvortsov 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. In his tour of a country devastated by war, he struggles to keep hope alive.