Having narrowly escaped a court martial, fighter pilot Rudakov is sent on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. Rudakov's plane is shot down, but he manages to survive and steal an enemy Messerschmitt from the airfield. Under the cover of "foreign" wings, Rudakov joins the war against the Nazis as part of a partisan detachment. SS Obersturmbannführer Katulsky learns that a Soviet pilot is flying the Messerschmitt. However, it is not only Katulsky who begins the hunt for Rudakov – the order to destroy his plane is also given by the second secretary of the regional party committee, Kezhaev, who once sent Rudakov to court.