The film covers the events of 1896-1905 - from the first revolutionary gatherings to the armed Moscow uprising of workers at Krasnaya Presnya, later called Bloody Sunday. St. Petersburg students Alexander Mikhailov and Yevgeny Svetlov and a peasant girl Varvara Postnikova arrive in Moscow and follow the complicated path of underground revolutionaries.

The daredevil pilot Sergei Belyaev takes a risk flying a plane which is not properly maintained and crashes dangerously, landing in hospital, his plane going up in smoke. The aviation student Galya Bystrova, having a crush with Belyaev, unfortunately tends to imitate him in the air. Later, heeding the advice of the wise headmaster Rogachev, they become experienced pilots. Bystrova is assigned to Pamir, and Rogachev, in love with her, is sent to Sakhalin.

1939 film by Mikhail Romm