The Eastern Front, 1941: young tank commander Mikhail Kalashnikov is seriously wounded in battle. Unable to work and with no prospect of returning to the front, yet eager to continue to help his country, he begins developing designs for a more robust, effective and reliable assault rifle. With the help of a few train welders, Kalashnikov's first prototype catches the interest of a high-ranking military official. This opens the first of many doors for Kalashnikov, allowing him to take part in country-wide weapons design competitions – pitting his designs and ideas against the most renowned inventors of the Soviet Union. And in his pursuit of perfection, Kalashnikov does everything he can to ensure that the world's most advanced and reliable weapon – the AK-47 – goes into production.