Vova is a fifteen-year-old boy living in Kiev. His first love is playing football, but when the Nazis invade the Ukraine in 1941, priorities change, and Vova and his sister join the partisans, to attempt to fight the enemy. Soon Vova is given the chance to play football again, but in a gamewith very high stakes - if Vova's team win, they will be shot. Vova and his team have to decide whether to disgrace their country and lose the game, or whether to win - and die.