Spring of the 1985th. On instructions from the GRU, scout Yuri Nikitin enters the Pakistan fortress of Badaber. Nikitin must collect evidence of the existence here of a training center for Mujahideen under the leadership of the CIA. After fulfilling a dangerous task, Nikitin sees on the territory of the fortress a group of Russian prisoners of war, among whom he recognizes his friend Mikhail, the son of his commander, General Kolesov, who was considered missing for several years. Nikitin decides to stay and save the children condemned to death ....