A new novel from the author of the bestseller “Redeemed with Blood!” A poignant story of Soviet and German penal prisoners, whose destinies are fused together in the crucible of war. Autumn 1942. German troops are rushing to the southeast, to Stalingrad, the Volga and Caucasian oil - it is here that the outcome of the Great Patriotic War and the fate of Russia will be decided. At the forefront of the Wehrmacht’s main attack, reconnaissance in force is carried out by German penal soldiers from the so-called “five hundredth” “test” battalions. It was to them that Stalin referred in his order, introducing penal units in the Red Army. And now, in the bloody autumn of 1942, Soviet and German penal battalions must come face to face. The penalty box did not shout “Hurray!” They died in silence.