Alexander Ivanovich Kirpikov is very popular in his village: only he has a horse, and everyone has vegetable gardens that need to be cultivated. So the villagers are trying to "respect" Kirpikov. But one day, the hardened body of a folk craftsman fails. After another binge, Kirpikov got so sick that he decided to stop drinking out of fright...

A film adaptation of Pavel Bazhov's short story.

Striking workers with their wives and children gathered in front of the governor's house. The crowd is noisy, they are trying to rip off the governor's shoulder straps, his assistants have difficulty pulling him out of the crowd and taking him into the house. Stones are flying through the windows. The governor goes out onto the balcony and takes out a handkerchief. The soldiers standing in the cordon are nervous, and a careless wave of the governor’s handkerchief is interpreted as an order to open fire. As a result, 47 people die. The governor, as a true patriot, cannot fight against his people. And having become, willingly or unwillingly, the culprit of the death of people, he awaits inevitable retribution for this.