Overview: Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II. Walking along the river, they watch cranes fly overhead, and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.
Overview: 1944 Sergeant Vasily Kalina returns to his native village of Pastoron after the hospital. But he does not find the village: retreating, the Germans burned all the houses and mined the fields. The restoration of the economy is led by the former commander of the partisan detachment Grigory Gorovoy. He appoints Vasily as the chairman of the collective farm. Soon Kalina learns that Claudia, whom he loved before the war, considering him dead, married Gorovoy. The current situation is not an easy test for all three...