The film's protagonist is Colonel Jerzy Ryszard Kukliński of the Polish People's Army, one of the most controversial figures in modern Polish history. For some, he was a national hero who saved Poland from Soviet invasion, for others, he was just a spy and a traitor. The documentary shows his career path: from joining the army in 1947 at the age of 17, through his appointment to a high position in the General Staff in 1964, his graduation in 1976 from the Military Academy in Moscow, where top-ranking officers were trained, to his promotion in the same year to head of the strategic defense planning department. After the West learned of plans to impose martial law in Poland, Kukliński, who was in danger of being exposed, was evacuated by the Americans to Berlin in November 1981.