Lieutenant Cherdyntsev arrived for service on the western border of the Soviet Union on June 21, 1941. Of course, he could not even imagine what the shortest night of the year would bring both to him personally and to the vast country that Cherdyntsev swore to protect. Retreat with battles, wandering behind the rear of an enemy intoxicated by the blitzkrieg, constant anticipation of the last bloody battle... And finally - an unexpected, but such a logical decision - the uninvited aliens must be beaten here, on the ground where military fate has thrown you. Beat mercilessly, day and night, believing that sooner or later, he will be able to return to the outpost that has become distant, the service at which ended for him before it even began...