A group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter near the Volga.

The dream of Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company, is to have a son to continue his business. Tragically, Dombey's wife dies shortly after giving birth to their son.

A writer who wants to see and display the life of an ordinary bourgeois settles in the house. Having learned about the true goals of the guest, the family members decide to play a prank on him, making him believe that a gang of crooks and gangsters is hiding in the depths of the "quiet family".

An orphaned ninth-grader comes to the factory where her father once worked.

A middle-aged magician Pyotr Tarasov vegetates in the circus, receiving a meager salary. But he is a magician, he has a professional family secret: he can take out of a hat not only birds and rabbits, but also any amount of food. To use his opportunities, on the advice of friends, he opens a restaurant. Can a poor sorcerer become a prosperous businessman?

The plot is based on the construction of a highway bridge across the Volga River in Saratov. A Moscow correspondent comes to this construction site.

The story takes place in the autumn of 1941. On a train slowly heading east, evacuated families of workers and employees from one of Moscow's factories are traveling. Gradually, fear and alienation give way to the warmth of human involvement and solidarity...

The Tsar of Spirits – a creator, surrounded by his kind geniuses and his loyal servant Pamphilius, leads an interesting life. With the help of Zephius, a scholar-astrologer, he not only fulfills his request to save Elimar's son from poverty, but also helps the young man rediscover his interest in life.

Young dentist Chesnokov has a knack for painless tooth removal, much to the dismay of others, who fear unemployment and start to challenge Chesnokov.