Ten-year-old Zigis lives with his family in a house on the bank of a river in Riga, Latvia. The Second World War has begun, but Zigis's childhood is as carefree as before; he goes to school and plays with his friends and his trusted companion, his dog Dzheris. In 1941, Latvia is occupied by the German army. Repressions begin against the Jews. Zhanis, Zigis's father, works at the Luftwaffe factory in Riga to which Jews are taken every day from the ghetto. An enthusiastic and fearless adventurer, he thinks of a way to save the Jews working at the factory but condemned to a certain death. In the yard of his house, he digs a bunker to hide them. Zigis becomes a witness to these events. Zhanis's decision changes both his and his mother Johanna's life from completely. Their precarious wartime existence is further endangered: hiding Jews is punishable by death and even young Zigis would not be spared. By helping the Jews, Zhanis has robbed the simple familial happiness that Zigis so wishes for. In time, Zigis understands his father's humanity and this experience changes him from a careless and dreamy boy to a mature adolescent who is fully aware of the cruelty of war. The film is a story of growing up against the background of the tragic events of the 20th century.