Vladimir Siluyanov

A story of the adventures of two young boys during WWII.

A small vessel is caught in a storm at sea. With no fuel and no radio, Boatswain Pukhov — an amateur pigeon breeder — sends two pigeons carrying a message about the tugboat’s dire situation. One of them, named Pilot, reaches land. The crew is rescued, and Pilot is given to a schoolboy from Moscow who took part in this difficult voyage.

The nine-year-old Prague boy Pepiček flies to Moscow as an involuntary stowaway on an airplane. Together with the Soviet pioneer Mischa, he pursues an alleged agent in the hustle and bustle of the World Festival and is flown back to Prague in the evening.

German troops leave a small town located on the border of Western Ukraine and Poland. The Pilsudians seize power in the city. Bolshevik, who returned from prison, heads the underground revolutionary committee.