The Soviet command has alarming information about the new invention of the enemy. According to intelligence, the Nazis delivered a batch of new chemical shells filled with gas of tremendous destructive power to one of the sections of the Eastern Front. The Nazis want to test them in combat conditions, and then apply them on a large scale.

Ivan Khristoforov discovers the strange property of foreseeing explosions. Trying to understand the reason and meaning of this unusual ability, he turns to family history. The attention of the secret public service doesn't bode well for Khristoforov. The imaginary journey of the hero in his past, bearing the imprint of a children's worldview, and the present, at times just like a dream.