Clemens Forell is a German Wehrmacht soldier who was captured by the Soviets in 1945. He is sentenced to 25 years of hard labor for "crimes against the partisans" and is sent with a large group of prisoners to a Gulag labor camp in the Siberian region of the Soviet Union. After a brutal cross-continent railway journey on starvation rations and a long trek by foot into the bleak wilderness, they reach the camp, which is ruled by a cruel commander, Lieutenant Kamenev. Following one failed escape, Forell gains unexpected help from the camp doctor, Dr. Heinz Stauffer, who is terminally ill with cancer. The doctor offers Forell warmth, a loaded pistol, and supplies he has hidden for a long journey, and he urges Forell to tell his wife in Magdeburg that he is already dead.
Forell decides to head north to dodge the guards who would expect him to head west. With supplies running out, he resorts to killing a seal to survive. Over the winter, he wanders across northern Siberia and eventually meets Anastas and Semyon, two gold prospectors. At first wary, Forell soon joins them in their harsh expedition. After Semyon falls into a river and Forell helps save him, Semyon shoots and kills Anastas when he suspects him of stealing gold. The two men continue their journey, but when Semyon becomes unable to go on, Forell offers to carry his pack. A moment of mistrust ends with Semyon shoving Forell down a slope, convinced Forell will try to steal the gold.
Beset by wolves, Forell is rescued by nomadic Chukchi herders, among whom a woman named Irina falls in love with him. After a difficult recovery, the Chukchi learn that the Soviets are searching for Forell, and Forell leaves with a dog the tribe gives him for companionship. He is later put on a freight train as a brakeman during a logging operation, but betrayal and pursuit by the Soviets continue to shadow him. Forell manages to escape again, though Kamenev remains a constant threat, and his dog Argish is shot and killed when he attacks Kamenev, leaving a lasting scar on the commander.
Over the next year, Forell makes his way toward Central Asia and then toward the Iranian border, aided by a Polish Jewish man who helps him obtain a passport despite Forell’s German origin. As he walks toward freedom, he sees Kamenev approaching from the Iranian side. Petrified, Forell stares at Kamenev and a tense showdown seems inevitable, but Kamenev steps aside and lets Forell pass, declaring that > I have defeated you.
On the Iranian side, Forell is briefly mistaken for a Soviet spy and taken prisoner, but his uncle, who works in Ankara, is brought to identify him, and Forell is freed. He eventually reaches West Germany just before Christmas, where his family leaves for church. He finally arrives at the church and is joyfully reunited with his loved ones, closing a long and arduous journey of endurance, hope, and return.
