Rita, a sixteen-year-old girl, loses her parents in the first months of World War II, and Rita herself survives only by sheer luck. To rid herself of the memories of that terrible day, Rita enlists in a sabotage unit heading behind enemy lines. Also assigned to this unit are Vanya, who is in love with Rita and accidentally witnesses her parents' murder, and the hooligan Yashka. During the murder of Rita's parents, Yashka was on lookout, and now he's trying to leave Moscow as quickly as possible, hiding from the killers behind the front lines, trying to clear their tracks. From now on, the boys are members of Team 8, without names, without a past, without hope of returning.

A group of young scouts, including Rita, Vanya, and Yashka, undergo accelerated training. Among them, Boom-Boom, an experienced fighter who becomes a mentor to the newcomers, stands out. The unit is transferred behind German lines, where they face their first combat missions: destroying bridges, gathering intelligence, and engaging the enemy.

During the mission, part of the group is killed, and the survivors—Rita, Vanya, Yashka, and Boom-Boom—are forced to hide in the forest. They discover a secret German facility, which changes their mission. Tensions between the heroes mount: Vanya distrusts Yashka, suspecting him of betrayal, while Rita struggles to remain loyal to her friends.

The group returns to Moscow, where Rita begins investigating her parents' murder. It turns out their deaths are connected to a diamond ring, which was the motive for the crime. Yashka and Vanya help Rita expose the killer, who turns out to be connected to Moscow's criminal underworld.