A graduate of the village school Pyotr Gorokhov from the village of Dyadkovo comes to Moscow to enter a prestigious economic university; he succeeds, albeit literally by a miracle. However, Petya was always helped out by chance and mysticism. Compared to other students (mostly Muscovites and residents of other big cities), this guy from the province stands out sharply — both in manners, in reprimand, and in behavior. Accustomed to defend their principles to the end of Gorokhov was called Balamut (Troublemaker). Nevertheless, in the student community, he quickly mastered and became a leader. Everything would be fine, but he has two problems — unrequited love for the dark-skinned beauty from Cuba and English...

A.N. Ostrovsky recalls the first period of his creative work (1849–1859), when he began collaborating with the Maly Theatre and with masters of the Russian stage such as L.P. Kositskaya, M.S. Shchepkin, and P.M. Sadovsky. Almost every character in this film is a real historical figure.

One of the neighbors, Viktor Efimovich Rachkov, was repeatedly visited by the devil. He went to the police, but they asked for a description of the offender. Well, what kind of description can you give for the devil? So, he had to move out of his apartment, and in his place settled his mysterious nephew – a soloist of a gypsy ensemble. And where there's one gypsy, there are others. But let’s not reveal the whole intrigue...