A young submarine officer Andrei Korsakov loses his name, his fiancée, his freedom and survives by accident because of the treachery of his friends and a corrupt military prosecutor… Many years later he returns to his hometown – the city of his defeats – under a false name. Andrei makes a harsh plan of revenge on everyone responsible for the crash of his life. The former friends have no idea that their happy, carefree lives will come to an end soon, and they will have to pay the bills.
The year is 1953. Due to the mass amnesty, the criminal situation in the USSR is tense. At the same time, Ivan Astafyev, a former commander of a reconnaissance platoon, who was released from prison, returns to his hometown of Gorky. And immediately becomes a victim of an attack by bandits, and then a false accusation of beating the attackers. Ivan's pre—war acquaintance, Captain Shvedov, helps out of trouble, who gets him a job at the Dynamo sports society to train policemen in hand-to-hand combat.
The beautiful Sonya, the leading actress of the provincial theater, comes to Moscow. She is thirty years old and she understands that she does not have much time to realize her dream and become a real star. After another unsuccessful test, Sonya falls asleep in one of the Mosfilm pavilions, since she has nowhere to live. When the security guard tries to force her out of the film studio, Masha comes to her aid. Masha, at twenty-eight, is in no hurry. After graduating from the theater school, Masha recovered and does not feel confident in her body. Having chosen the position “my body is my business”, Masha finds herself in the safe world of cartoon voice acting. Masha is kind, with a good sense of humor.
Shy graduate student Dmitry Neretin goes to the front to serve as a translator. After several weeks of intense fighting, a lull begins. Battalion scouts advance to the front line and return with a prisoner — a German captain who mysteriously dies at night. Neretin finds out that the captured enemy was killed right in their location. Now Dmitry will have to figure out a traitor among his associates who did not allow the prisoner to betray the secrets of the German army.
Medea is an intelligent, highly educated woman who gives up on her dreams when she falls for rich businessman Alexei. When the pair have two children, she patiently waits for him to divorce his wife, and as he decides to emigrate from Russia to Israel, she meekly follows him. But when he shuns her for having committed a crime to protect him, her blind love turns into burning rage.
1943. On the eve of the Red Army offensive, Captain Belov's group, which includes Ivan Rodin, accidentally discovers a disguised tank division near the village of Anino. The scouts understand that only they know about the ambush arranged by the Germans. The wounded Belov orders Ivan to reach the Soviet command and warn them of the danger. He reports to the headquarters about the tanks he saw and even reproduces the tactical number of the division, but the front command does not believe him. Suspecting Ivan of misinformation and working for the Germans, the military sends him under arrest. Colonel Alyoshin tries to save his friend: thanks to his perseverance, the command sends another group to Anino — Ivan becomes the guide, and Odintsovo leads the detachment.
1943. On the eve of the Red Army offensive, Captain Belov's group, which includes Ivan Rodin, accidentally discovers a disguised tank division near the village of Anino. The scouts understand that only they know about the ambush arranged by the Germans. The wounded Belov orders Ivan to reach the Soviet command and warn them of the danger. He reports to the headquarters about the tanks he saw and even reproduces the tactical number of the division, but the front command does not believe him. Suspecting Ivan of misinformation and working for the Germans, the military sends him under arrest. Colonel Alyoshin tries to save his friend: thanks to his perseverance, the command sends another group to Anino — Ivan becomes the guide, and Odintsovo leads the detachment.