: A schoolgirl starred as a partisan in a film about the Patriotic War of 1812. In a few years, she will repeat the path of her heroine during the years of World War II.
Part one. My Ustia
1938 year. Sim Krupitsyna, an unpretentious, freckled girl, a mediocre student, the object of ridicule of her class, and especially Romka Kashtan, is invited to act in films. She is offered the role of partisan Usti Biryukova in a film about Napoleon. The role of Denis Davydov is performed by the director of the film, People's Artist of the USSR Alexander Dmitrievich Raschepey. Sim’s relatives, especially the husband of her older sister, whose family is called the Adjuster, are delighted: to star in a movie with such a famous director is a bonanza, especially since Sima’s father was almost blind after a frontal wound, and the Krupitsyn family needs money. With classmates, Sima begins to be popular.
Ustya Biryukova, a real historical figure, was a serf actress with Count Korevanov. The dashing hussar Denis Davydov arrives at one of the performances and gets acquainted with Usti. After some time, in flaming Moscow, Ustya meets with Napoleon. By chance, Ustya breaks out of Moscow, falls into the partisan detachment of Denis Davydov, fights with the enemy, and then returns to his master and plays in the theater. The count does not value her military merits, as does the king, the merits of the common people.
For rehearsals, Splits invites Sima home. There she meets his wife Irina Mikhailovna and housekeeper Arisha Shubina. During rehearsals, the famous director thoroughly works through each episode, explains its essence.
Having lost his son because of the movie, Splashes is attached to Sime, who reciprocates. He instills in the girl his love of astronomy, pulls her up in mathematics. Sima sees how, not sparing himself, forgetting about a sick heart, Raschepsev relates to work.
Finally the film is finished. After the all-Union success of Rascheysche, he expects to shoot another picture and forgets about Sim, who was drawn to the world of cinema. Sima meets director Prichalin, who cannot forgive Raschepey that he took Sima to the movie instead of his niece. Prichalin offers the girl a role in his film. Having learned about this, Raschepchev tries to dissuade her: Prichalin is a puncher, he makes vulgar, mediocre films, and Sime needs to learn. But the girl does not understand him, is offended and tells Prichalin about this. Prichalin promises the work of the Adjuster.
Feeling guilty for introducing the girl into the world of cinema, Raschechev comes to Sima's home and tries to talk with her parents. Parents agree with him, but the Adjuster takes the side of Sima: a chance should not be missed, especially since for their modest family this is a solid income.
Sima begins acting in Prichalin. He does not know how to explain and constantly yells at her. When a girl gives him an example of Splitting methods, Prichalin only gets angry. Having seen the excerpts of the film, Raschepchev persuades Sim to leave the picture, which causes Prichalin to be indignant. A heart attack occurs with Raschepey, nevertheless Prichalin wants to speak on a committee against him.
Hearing this, Sima writes a letter to the Central Committee with the intention of protecting Splitter, but she is seriously ill with bronchitis, having been exposed to rain. During her illness, a commission arrives. The film Quay is criticized and suspended from work.
Sima enters a circle of young astronomers and leaves in the summer in a pioneer camp near Moscow. At the request of the guys, Raschepischi comes to talk with them at the pioneer campfire. The great director tells the pioneers about the civil war and his passion for astronomy. Saying goodbye, he confesses to Sime that he has big heart problems.
A month later, the death of the People's Artist of the USSR Alexander Dmitrievich Raschepchey was reported on the radio. His widow gives Sima a letter in which he writes that Sima’s letter for the Central Committee came to him, and he hid it so as not to disturb big people. He asks to transmit this letter after his death, he also instructs Sime to live boldly and remember him in the days of her great confrontations.
She spends the rest of her vacation in Turkmenistan with her brother. On the day of the great confrontation of Mars, she meets her brother's friend Amed.
Part two. Moscow light
1941 year. All this time, Sima is in correspondence with Amed, they exchange impressions from read books and watched films. Sima’s correspondence with Amed is jealous of her classmate Romka Kashtan. June 22, 1941 Amed is going to come to Moscow.
On June 21, Sim as a pioneer detachment from an astronomical circle is going on a one-day trip. The guys in boats sail to an island, which is located near the former estate of Count Korevanov. A year ago, they secretly left notes with plans for next year. Now the guys want to find them, but the notes disappeared. Suspicion falls on Vaska Zhmyryova, a local bully who chuckles at the guys and Sima all the time. Having gathered home, they see that the boat has disappeared. Now they were left on the island without food. One of the boys, Igor Malinin, brings fish that he caught in a reserved place. But then an old fisherman appears, from whose nets Igor took the fish. Despite the fact that the guys condemn Igor and ask for forgiveness, the old man is offended and leaves, not paying attention to the request to inform someone about their whereabouts.
A day passes, the guys stay on the island for another night. It seems strange to them that in Moscow all the lights went out. Finally, a boat arrives for them, which was sent by an alarmed parent. From arrivals, the guys learn the terrible news: the war has begun.
At home, Sim finds a letter from Amed, who had to leave because of the war. Sima’s neighbor, captain Malinin, Igor’s father, leaving for the front, asks her to look after her son, since the boy remains completely alone.
In the early days of the war, Sima and her guys were on duty on the roof, dropping lighters. Romka Kashtan is in a fighter battalion and visits Sim in his free time. During one of the raids, the wife of Splitting is killed. For Sima, who cherished his memory carefully, the only thread that breaks with him is torn.
The enemy is getting closer to Moscow, and Sima and the pioneers are evacuating, her parents are still in the city. The train falls under the bombing, stands for a long time at stations clogged with trains from the front, food problems begin. Once it turns out that it was Igor, for fun, that he hijacked a boat from an island. In the morning, the boy, ashamed by the guys, disappears, leaving a note. He is ashamed, and he goes to the front to make amends.
The teacher accompanying the guys gives telegrams at all stations, and Sima feels guilty before his father Igor. She is ready to return home to find a boy, but at one of the stations she accidentally meets Amed, who is sent to the front, to defend Moscow. Having collected his things, Sima gets into the train of Amed. They parted near Moscow: Amed goes to the army, and Sima, having pushed around at the station, gets on the passenger train. Through a secret hole at the checkpoint, Sima enters the besieged city.
Instead of the evacuated parents, she finds Major Protorov who has settled in their apartment. They decide to live together and help each other. From the commandant, Sima learns that Igor returned and settled in the attic, since the Malinins' apartment was sealed. But when he was brought to the commandant’s office, he fled again.
On November 7, the day of the Parade on Red Square, a note from the housekeeper Raschepei Arisha Shubina, a resident of the village of Korevanovo, near Moscow, in which the house-museum of Count Korevanov is located, comes to the commandant’s house.She reports that Igor is with her, and he is seriously ill. With the help of Protorov, Sima gets a pass to travel to the front-line zone, but she is stopped by the sentry near the village: the entrance is closed. With the help of his old friend, unpleasant to her, Zhmyryov, Sima gets into the village and finds Igor, who has weakened after the illness. Zhmyryov took warm things from him. The girl decides to take him early in the morning to Moscow, but at night the Nazis enter the house. They evict Sima, Igor and Arisha to the annex. On the leaflets torn from the notebook, Igor and Sim write leaflets in support of the Red Army, and Igor puts them up.
Food is bad, Igor is weakening. One of December evenings, Igor and Sima notice that the Nazis are leaving, but before leaving they are going to set fire to the museum. They beat up trying to stop Igor from them, but then the bombing begins. Taking advantage of general confusion, Sima and Igor flee into the forest. With difficulty, dragging a weakened Igor, Sima leaves the forest into a clearing. There she meets fighters from Amed's platoon. They tell her the terrible news of his death. The fighters help the children return to Moscow. Roma Kashtan, who has already gone to the front, writes letters to Sime.
Three years pass, the war ends. Sima studies at the Faculty of Astronomy. April 30, 1945, on her birthday, friends gather at the Krupitsyns. Among them is her classmate, an old friend of Roma Kashtan, with whom she dreams of staying together.
