In late 1930s Russia, a young man named Sasha Parsky kills two soldiers who come to arrest his parents as kulaks (affluent farmers). He escapes arrest--though not suspicion. Sasha, now under greater scrutiny, is asked by Boris Filatov, the chief of the local secret police, to take a position as the head of a small boys' school with the condition that Sasha spy on the previous director, who was dismissed for political reasons. As Sasha's visits to the exiled man turn into discussions on politics and Sasha begins making changes at the school, it is only a matter of time before anonymous letters denouncing him arrive on Filatov's desk. But even more ominous is the arrival of two men from the past who have the knowledge to do Sasha great harm. Caught between Filatov and the fear of exposure, Sasha hazards all in testing the fidelity of a loved one.