Pyotr Nagulin finally sorted out his relationship with the NKVD and, it seems to him, convinced the Soviet leadership of his loyalty. However, his new position brought him new problems. He is now in Moscow, still far from the front, but Senior Lieutenant of State Security cannot calmly watch as hundreds of thousands of encircled Red Army soldiers die in the Kiev pocket. He goes to his superiors with a proposal that once again casts doubt on his fate.