It's 1988, the eve of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The command of the 108th Motorized Rifle Division is planning a retreat through the Salang Pass, controlled by Engineer Khoshem's mujahideen group. Intelligence is attempting to negotiate a truce with the mujahideen, but matters are complicated by the capture of a Soviet military pilot by Khoshem. A complex game begins, intertwining the conflicting interests of many different people: staff officers, Islamists, special forces, intelligence, Afghan government officials, Soviet intelligence officers, Tajiks, and Pashtuns. And at the very center of this maelstrom are the soldiers of the reconnaissance company, for whom the rule of not abandoning one's own is more important than any political considerations.