Set in Ukraine, beginning in late 1918, The White Guard concerns the fate of the Turbin family as the various armies of the Russian Civil War - the Whites, the Reds, the Imperial German Army, and Ukrainian nationalists - fight over the city of Kiev. Historical figures such as Pyotr Wrangel, Petlyura and Pavlo Skoropadsky appear as the Turbin family is caught up in the turbulent effects of the October Revolution.