Lida and her younger sister, Larissa, are packed in a bright room with many other screaming, crying children. Larissa begs Lida not to leave her. A German-speaking woman announces they will receive a medical exam. Larissa is afraid and ashamed when asked to remove her nightgown. When Lida tries to protect her sister, she is physically restrained. Lida joins a large group of children, while Larissa is placed in a smaller group. Lida promises Larissa that she will find her. Lida tries to push through the crowd to Larissa but is thrown into a dark vehicle.

Lida awakens on a train crammed with children and headed to Germany. The cattle car is hot, crowded, and smelly. There is no food or water, and there is only a bucket for a toilet. Lida futilely tries to open the locked train door. Lida meets Marika Steshyn, who is from a village near Lida’s home village of Verenchanka, and Luka Barukovich and Zenia Chornij, both from Kyiv. When the train stops after two nights, a young Nazi soldier threateningly calls them “Russian swine,” which confuses Lida. An emaciated woman gives them a bucket of water and foul soup.