Banned in the Soviet Union for its "negative" content and never released, Kalatozov was forced to retreat from filmmaking for seven years because of this film. The film sets out to illustrate the old adage, "For want of a nail, the battle was lost," showing how the inferior quality of something so trivial as a nail in a soldier's boot leads inexorably to the capture of an armored train. Kalatozov had intended to demonstrate the crucial and universal importance of efficiency in Soviet industry, but the government decided that his fable gave a negative impression of the Red Army's capabilities.
The young craftsman Gogia and the village girl Tasia fall in love with each other. Arriving in Tasia's village accompanied by a wedding procession, Gogia Can't find his bride anymore, Turns out by the order of Tasia's godmother, the duke's wife, she was taken to the duke's house as a servant. The elderly duke liked Tasia and decided to marry her. Gogia with the help of his friends, Karachokheli, tries to get his bride back.
A wealthy Ossetian prince adopts a foundling and raises her as his own daughter, Fatima. As Fatima grows up, she falls in love with her stepbrother, Dzhambulat. However, when Dzhambulat goes to war and disappears, Fatima defies her father’s wishes and decides to marry a poor labourer.
