The returning soldier Kuzma Kadkin on the train tells how well he lived before the war, and that everyone in the area knows him. An accidental fellow traveler, a young mother, leaves her child, a one and a half year old boy, Kadkin, to run away at the junction for water, but lags behind the train. Kuzma has no choice but to bring the baby home...

Andrei and Tanya love each other, which is why frequent partings are so difficult for them: Andrei is a test pilot, and Tanya works on television, and both are constantly on business trips. They have two sons — twins. For eight years of marriage, they cannot count a total of three when they were together. And yet they are happy...

The main character is a talented, but timid writer of the Filippok experiencing with his country the difficult years of revolution, devastation and war. Adversity helps him overcome the unrequited and faithful love for the widow of Commissioner Zinochka, who bossily manages his career, not hesitating to start novels with other men. Filippok will describe the story of his life in a book that at the end of days will be presented by a terminally ill, but still dearly beloved wife, with gratitude for the experience.

The war is drawing to a close, soldiers demobilized from wounds are returning to their homelands. What awaits them in their native villages?