Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev says goodbye to his wife and children and goes to run. The elder Filaret blesses him to lead a rebellion under the name of Peter III of Russia. The insurgents dealt with the feudal lords cruelly. Queen Catherine the Great directs troops against the rioters. Traitors betray Emelyan, and now he is being transported across Russia in an iron cage.
Tank crew Officer-member Fedotov on the way from a hospital on visiting home became acquainted with young Sonya, mother of three children. After demobilization went back to her. Happiness of them was short. Sonya became ill and died. Soon her husband arrived after children, but left with a father only junior.
