Alexei Pivovarov’s documentary is a historical investigation into the Soviet Union’s complete unpreparedness for the war in the summer of 1941, while the war was at its borders in the fall of 1939. Did Stalin, a ruthless pragmatist, really trust Hitler more than his own intelligence? Did the Soviet agents really tell him the exact date of the attack a few months before it happened? Or is it no more than a myth created by the Communist historians to hide the truth? In order to answer these questions, the film crew had to more than once cross the former border between the Soviet Union and the Third Reich, created after the division of Europe according to the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact. Surviving witnesses of the tragic era were found in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, and Finland. Their memories were supplemented with rigorous scientific research performed by historians Mikhail Meltyukhov and Mark Solonin, who had spent a lot of time working in the archives. The film became a joint Russian-German project. The participation of German journalists and historians made it possible to present the 1938-1941 events as seen from the other side of the border.