Following the Russian Civil War a loyal Red Shilov must prove he is at home among strangers as he attempts to recapture a shipment of gold that he was supposed to deliver to Moscow. Needed as a means of buying food for the people the gold Shilov was entrusted with is stolen initially by a group of assassins and then by a group of bandits. In tracking the gold's whereabouts Shilov's motives are questioned and he is suspected of treason in part because his brother was a devoted White. In an effort to clear his name Shilov locates the gold but he also discovers rampant greed and corruption.