"Steppe Gods" is a feature-length adaptation of the novel of the same name by Andrei Gelasimov. The film is set in the summer of 1945 in post-war Zabaykalye. Ten-year-old Petka tries to save his best friend from a mysterious illness. The only person who can help is Hirotaro, a Japanese prisoner-of-war doctor. Together, the characters must navigate fear, distrust, and prejudice to find an answer to a question that turns out to matter more than the illness itself.