Captain 2nd Rank Alexey Barsuk, facing downsizing, returns to his hometown, takes over his father's position as a forester in the Chernobyl zone, and begins a battle against the local mafia.
The film is based on the story by L. Andreev "The Life of Vasily of Thebes" about the fate of the village priest Vasily, who, after going through a great many misfortunes, renounces God in order to regain his true faith through even greater grief.
The self-taught inventor Kostylin, convinced of the expediency of his latest work, this time decided to seek recognition to the end.