A film about the feat of the Podolsk cadets in October 1941 near Moscow. The cadets of the Podolsk artillery-infantry schools are ordered to take up defenses on the Ilyinsky line.

The film tells the story of the Podolsk cadets' heroic stand outside Moscow in October 1941. Cadets from the Podolsk infantry and artillery schools were sent to the Ilyinsky line of defense, fighting alongside units from the Soviet 43rd Army to hold back the German advance until reinforcements arrived. Hopelessly outnumbered, young men in their teens laid down their lives in a battle lasting almost two weeks to obstruct the far superior German forces advancing towards Moscow. This film is not only about war. It is also about love, true camaraderie, and the path from boyhood to manhood. Around 3,500 cadets and their commanding officers were sent to hold up the last line of defense outside Moscow. Most of them remained there for eternity.

In October, 1941, the German troops are heading to Moscow and the soviets do not have any troop nearby to protect their capital. Colonel Strelbitsky, who is the head of the Podolsk Artillery School, is ordered to use his 3,500 cadets to defend the last stand to Moscow until the last man while the Russian troops return to assume the protection. The cadets have few provision, ammunition and weapons, but they bravely defend their motherland.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil