Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
A Family Before Departure
A conscientious engineer rejects unsafe construction while preparing to work abroad. At home, the family shares an evening and exchanges farewell gifts before the separation.
Key Events
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Unsafe Building Inspection — An engineer refuses to approve a building because safety rules were violated.
Location: Moscow apartment building
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Family Evening — The family spends an evening together before an overseas work departure. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Family home
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Farewell Gifts — The children receive personal gifts before the family separates. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Family home
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Departure for Barcelona — The father leaves for a project while his family remains in Moscow. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Moscow airport
The Flight into Disaster
The family arranges a last-minute holiday flight to Spain. While a reunion is anticipated at the airport, the aircraft collision turns the journey into a catastrophe.
Key Events
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Holiday Flight Begins — Diana and Konstantin board a last-minute flight to join their father in Spain. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Passenger aircraft
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Airport Waiting — The father waits at the airport while the family travels toward Spain. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Barcelona El Prat International Airport
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Midair Collision — The passenger flight collides in midair with a cargo plane over Germany. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Airspace over Überlingen
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Crash-Site Search — The bereaved father joins the search and finds Diana's body among the wreckage. Characters: Diana
Location: Crash site
Grief Seeks an Answer
The bereaved father returns home and visits the cemetery. News reports lead him to identify the responsible air-traffic controller and demand accountability rather than money.
Key Events
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Return to Moscow — After the disaster, the bereaved father returns to a home he cannot initially enter.
Location: Moscow family home
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Family Grave Visit — Flowers are placed at the grave where the family is buried together. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Cemetery
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News Investigation — The bereaved father repeatedly watches reports and writes down the controller's surname.
Location: Moscow home
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Demand for Apology — A request to meet the responsible controller is denied, while an apology is demanded.
Location: Air traffic company office
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Compensation Refused — Money is offered, but the bereaved father insists that only an apology matters.
Location: Air traffic company office
Justice Turns to Revenge
After institutional refusal and a rejected apology demand, he travels to Zürich and finds the controller's home. The confrontation ends in a fatal knife attack.
Key Events
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Search in Zürich — He travels to Zürich, stays in a hotel, and locates the controller's house.
Location: Zürich hotel and neighborhood
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Confrontation at the House — He displays a photograph of his family and orders the controller to apologize.
Location: Controller's house
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Knife Attack — After being rejected and pushed away, he stabs the controller several times.
Location: Outside the controller's house
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Arrest and Admission — He changes his appearance, is arrested, and admits the killing without denying it.
Location: Hotel room and courtroom
A Life Defined by Memory
The killer is arrested, tried, and imprisoned before returning to Moscow years later. Public praise cannot erase his loss, and he continues honoring his family at the grave.
Key Events
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Prison Sentence — The court sends him to prison for the killing.
Location: Prison
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Release and Public Honor — After release, he is publicly honored as a hero and visits his family's grave. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Moscow airport and cemetery
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Quiet Life After Loss — He takes in a kitten and continues bringing flowers to the family grave. Characters: Diana, Konstantin
Location: Family home and cemetery
Based on true and tragic events in the life of Vitaly Kaloyev, an architect and family man. In 2002, his wife and children die in a mid-air collision along with 70 other people, mostly children. Vitaly is one of the first people to discover the bodies of his family at the site of the crash. The blame is put on the company responsible for monitoring the air space, as well as the lone air traffic controller on duty at the time. Two years later, after much obstructed efforts to get apologies and answers, Vitaly flies to Switzerland to obtain justice.
