Mrs. Gurmyzhskaya, meets old age in his estate, in a remote province. Her estate comes nephew, half-educated pupil and mistress, boredom, decides to have an affair with him... Anyone willing to meet a rich aunt "reciprocity".
Foma Gordeyev, the son of a wealthy Volga merchant, doesn't want to continue his father's work. The mind is sickened by the dirt and injustice of life around him. Foma is seeking solace in a drunken rampage and wild antics.
After many years of desolation, he is half-ill at the opening of a night shelter built with his father’s money.
The film takes place during the civil war. Tolya Dergach, having lost his parents, falls under the influence of bandits looking for hidden treasure in the ruins of the estate. The boy, of course, will understand his new friends — and together with old friends will help the security officers to neutralize criminals.
The story unfolds in a post-war town in Western Ukraine. The enemy agents are trying to subvert communist writer Aleksandr Garmash using ideological diversions. In parallel, a story is told about student Rostislav Danchenko who is being recruited by enemy agents. The story is pertinent due to resurgence of ultra-nationalist underground activity in Western Ukraine after World War II.
The film is about the exploit of a nineteen-year-old soldier of the Great Patriotic War - Alexander Matrosov, who covered the embrasure of the enemy's bunker with his body.