本书研究明代前期（1351年元末战争爆发至1449年土木之变）军事制度诞生、演变的历史。分草创、演变、稳定三个阶段观察军事机构体系，由此探讨兵权分配、行伍组织、身份管理，即各类人员在体系中行使权力、利用关系、维护权利的历史。本书结论是，在明前期这个特殊历史单元中，军事制度的四个层面源于不同时代的传统，其基本特征与历史走向，受制于貌似不合历史潮流与时代需求的、生发于明代建国历程中的“近现代”传统。

The film covers the heroic defence of the Brest Fortress, which was attacked during the first strike of German invaders on June 22 1941. The story describes the events of the first days of the defence, including the three main resistance zones, headed by the regiment commander, Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov, the commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin and the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov. Many years later veteran Alexander Akimov again recalls the memories of the time, when he, then a 15 year old Sasha Akimov was deeply in love with the beautiful Anya and suddenly found himself in the middle of the bloody events of war.