The young machine operator Fyodor Soloveikov marries Stesha from a neighboring village and moves to live with her parents in a house. Young and energetic, he suffocates in the petty bourgeois world of the family, living away from collective farm life. Quarrels arise between young people, where old men pour oil of discord. Not receiving proper support from his wife, Fyodor leaves home.

Chief accountant Porfiry Petrovich Smirnov-Alyansky, who took a good walk on the anniversary of his colleague cashier Ivan Zakharovich Vodnev, climbs into the traffic controller's booth and disrupts traffic on one of the streets of Leningrad. However, the guard Vasiliy Shaneshkin mistakenly delivers to the police station not an escaped offender, but a quite decent cashier. In addition, Vodnev, offended by the police, turns out to be the father of the bride Shaneshkin — Katya. Vasiliy admits his guilt, but, not daring to explain himself, leaves the angry Ivan Zakharovich with bad thoughts about the Soviet police. Fortunately, the young sergeant will soon have an opportunity to prove to others the responsibility and conscientiousness of the police officers.

Winter. At a small station where passing trains stop for only one or two minutes, Marushkin, the driver, meets a new agronomist, Lyusya Krechetova, who has arrived from Leningrad. At first, she looks curiously at her new life, which has neither comfort nor basic amenities. But soon this incomprehensible life, where only the truly passionate live and work, begins to annoy her. Unable to withstand the trials of selfless work, Lucy says goodbye to her new friends and returns home...