Summary

Chapter 35 describes Lieutenant Viktorov as he is summoned to HG. The person he has been summoned to see is absent upon his arrival and so he returns to his airfield. On his way back, he contemplates the beauty of nature and small Russian villages. At night, in chapter 36, Viktorov recalls his days in Stalingrad, and a love relationship he once carried on there. He compares his situation to a story about a widowed Russian aristocrat who entered a convent after her husband was executed.

In chapter 37, Viktorov's camp learns that they are to be moved to the front of the war. Viktorov and his friends discuss among themselves what will become of the semi-permanent arrangements they have made while residing in the small village. While their superiors are giving their new orders, a quarrel arises between Korol, a Jew, and Solomatin...