The Odesa boys, Petya Bachey and Gavrik Chernoivanenko, are brave and resourceful, finding themselves at the centre of early 20th-century events leading to the October Revolution. They are joined by adult characters like sailor Rodion Zhukov, Petya’s father Vasily, Madame Storozhenko, and Gavrik’s grandfather. As they grow, they experience the revolution, civil war, and become underground fighters during WWII in occupied Odesa.