Dimitri Jermakov was a promising cosmonaut until a training accident tied him to a wheelchair in the 1970s.

He sends his great love Alizja Karenina as the first woman into space - but her space capsule disappeared. Dimitri has never been able to cope with this and so he lives in seclusion on the German-Polish border. 

The only remnant of his old life is his grumpy brother Ed. The children Masha, Stanek and Ole keep him alive, and he volunteers cosmonaut training. For them he is a hero, until the machinations of the two brothers intersect in an ominous way.