Clemens Forell is a German soldier captured by soldiers of the Soviet Union in 1945. He is sentenced to 25 years hard labour for "crimes against the
partisans." He accompanies a large group of prisoners on a cross-continent railway journey on starvation rations, then a cross-country trek by foot through bleak wilderness to a
Gulag labour camp in
Siberia commanded by the cruel Lieutenant Kamenev. Forell fails in an escape attempt and Doctor Stauffer, who is too sick to carry out his own escape plan, gives him warm clothes, a pistol, and directions to a hidden supply cache. Forell promises to visit the doctor's wife in
Magdeburg and tell her he is already dead. Forell travels north to deceive the guards who expect him to go west. His supplies run out and he kills a seal for food. He spends the winter wandering across northern Siberia and encounters gold prospectors Anastas and Semyon. Forell rescues Semyon after falling in a river, and Semyon kills Anastas when he suspects him of stealing his gold. After further travels, Forell offers to carry the fatigued Semyon's pack for him. Semyon, still protective of his gold, throws Forell down a slope where he is attacked by wolves and rescued by
Chukchi herders. One of the nomads, Irina, falls in love with him. The Chukchi learn the Soviets are looking for Forell, and to Irina's chagrin, he leaves with Argish, a dog the Chukchi gifted him. He encounters a logging operation and joins a train crew as a brakeman but is betrayed and nearly captured by Soviet troops led by Kamenev. Argish is killed when he attacks Kamenev. Forell travels through
Central Asia for nearly a year. A
Polish Jew helps Forell acquire a passport despite being German. When he arrives at the
Iranian border, and freedom, Kamenev approaches from the Iranian side. The ensuring showdown ends when Kamenev steps aside and declares "I have defeated you". The Iranians arrest Forell on suspicion of being a Soviet spy, but he is released when his uncle from
Ankara,
Turkey comes to identify him. Forell arrives in
West Germany at Christmas, and reunites with his family as they attend holiday church services. == Cast ==