Early one morning, in an unspecified and seemingly far off time, a 12 year old boy, together with some friends, is searching a thick forest for objects of value. There is a lot of fog. The boy goes off by himself to another part of the wood and stands admiring an antique object he has found at the foot of a tree. His happy expression turns to one of curiosity as he is distracted by some high pitched cries which come and go intermittently.
Andrei finds an enormous carrot on a field. He gathers his family to dig it out, but soon scientists of a nearby nuclear power plant take notice. Andrei would do anything to keep his treasure and feed his family.
In October, 1956, during the Hungarian revolution against communism, a small town's students burn their russian grammar books believing they'll never have to learn russian language again. After the revolution is crushed by the soviet troops, the students have to have a russian book to be not kicked out of the school. A young boy risks his life and limb to help his idol, an older boy from the school finding a book while he tries to be a friend of him.
In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son, seeking to give him a proper jewish burial.