...Transbaikalia on the eve of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A small village, an outpost on the eastern borders of Russia. Ten-year-old hungry freeloaders play war games and dream of becoming heroes.

Japanese prisoners of war mine ore and die for no apparent reason. Doctor Hirotaro observes the mutations of steppe grasses day after day; he alone knows the secret of these mines. Nobody believes him. The time has come to call upon the Steppe Gods, who see everything and are older than war.