1986, Chornobyl disaster. Couples, friends, and a risk-taking journalist are woven into the larger framework of the disaster. Panic follows.

Looking for the money for a drink, an alcoholic gets a Newfoundland dog as a present from a stranger at a bird fair. He'll soon find out that the animal is not only able to speak, but to get him to give up drinking as well. Now he's determined to get rid of the dog, but that won't be an easy task.

A rare astronomical phenomenon — the parade of planets — has a strange effect on several men. The heroes of the film — an astrophysicist, locksmith, salesman, architect, loader, trolley bus driver — are called up for military training, which ends ahead of time. There is a strange pause in their life — no one knows where they are, no one is waiting for them, and they themselves can not rush anywhere. This short respite in a hasty and busy life gives the heroes the opportunity to experience strong and very important feelings for them.

Based on the play of the same name by Aleksandr Kravtsov, staged by the Moscow Drama Theatre named after K.S. Stanislavsky. The protagonists of the play — Darya Vlasyevna and Nikodimovna — share a room in a communal apartment. These women endured great hardship during the years of the Great Patriotic War. Yet throughout their lives, they preserved their faith in kindness and justice, always ready to help those in need.