After WWII, a Soviet pilot returns to civilian life and struggles in her roles as school principal and mother, and with her memories of the war.
Using an elaborate system of denunciation, the chief of the Zone keeps his prisoners in check. A new inmate, allegedly imprisoned for speculating on postage stamps, tries to rebel against the system.
A Soviet dam project means that many old Ukrainian villages will end up under water. There are conflicts between the dam engineers and villagers who don't want to move.
