The young Chinese peon Van, staying in an overnight house, becomes the casual victim of a recruiter. He is dressed in a soldier's overcoat and given a new rifle. At the same time, at a Soviet frontier post Red Army soldiers Vaska (Melnikov) and "Malyutka" (Nazarenko) are learning Chinese phrases about class unity with the peasants of Manchuria. Next, Quomintang soldiers with White Russian officers seize the Soviet border village. The wounded Red Army man Melnikov falls into their hands, and the young soldier Van, like the others who took part in the raid, witness the cruel interrogation of Vasily by Captain Alyabyev (Zhakov). The Chinese army begins a direct invasion of the USSR with an attack on a border bridge. At the cost of their own lives, several Red Army men hold positions. A massive counterattack by the Soviet troops rejects the enemy. Among many Chinese soldiers, Van is taken captive.