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Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Yuri Bondarev, this romantic drama starts at the close of World War II near Hamburg, where Nikitin (Boris Shcherbakov), a lieutenant in the Soviet army, is temporarily stationed. Nikitin meets a German teenager named Emma (Natalya Belochvostikova), and the two have a brief, intense affair before he has to leave for home. Many years later, Nikitin is visiting Hamburg by invitation of his German publisher -- where he meets Emma once more because she has been asked to translate for him. The old flame flares up again as the now-married, ex-lovers reminisce about the past without indulging their feelings. In reality, more emotion is invested on the war than on the love between the protagonists, causing romantic passion to be detoured, if not derailed.