A young aviator engineer, Hryhorii Mnogogrishnyi, escapes from a train carrying prisoners to a Siberian concentration camp. After struggling to survive in the wild, Hryhorii finds refuge in the Sirki family, Ukrainian immigrants who live in harmony with nature and hunt tigers. Here Hryhorii finds shelter and love. But the NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs) is out on the scent for the blood of the young engineer, leading to a deadly duel.