Residents of the American town of Ithaca live in their small and cozy world. Only brothers Ulysses and Homer disturb their peace: one - small pranks, the other - unexpected news. Homer is the oldest man in the house . He carries telegrams to the townspeople: sometimes they are messages from fathers, older brothers and sons from the distant fronts of the war, which is about to be called a world war, and sometimes they are notifications for the townspeople from the military ministry. They say that their relatives will never return home .. Ulysses and Homer have to not only grow up too quickly, but also themselves, without other people's clues, to understand the incomprehensible, cruel and insane rules of life.