The teenage Jirka (J. Procházka) likes to spend time with his aunt (Š. Ranošová) in a secluded village. He does not feel comfortable at home. His mother (J. Vaňková) and stepfather Ivan (P. Pelzer) scrape together every penny to save up for an expensive kitchen set and a Persian carpet. His mother is not very fond of his aunt and does not like Jirka's visits. On her next visit, the aunt gives Jirka her husband's carpentry tools. Jirka meets Jakub (M. Holub), an old carpenter, who helps him repair an old kitchen sideboard. Jakub shows the boy how precious wood the sideboard is made of. The two become friends. However, their mother is about to throw the sideboard away
In the Siberian taiga village of Wolf's Burrows, the Strogov family lives — Matvey with his wife Anna and his parents. Through the fate of this peasant family, a picture of the life of the Siberian region during major historical events — the Russo-Japanese War, the 1905 Revolution, the October Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War is outlined.
