Juna Mukhraneli will be assigned to work at a quarry after graduating from the institute. However, upon arrival, she will be offered the position of temporary well foreman instead of a geologist.

After the death of his wife, the skilled horseman Alkha Chamba found himself abandoned with his children. Seeking solace, he moved to the city. The proud old man grappled with the emptiness of his yard and gate. Determined to give his grandson a better life, he decided to return him to the village. This way, the boy could grow up in his family, learning the traditions and becoming a worthy successor as a brave rider. Especially since the boy had been raised in a boarding school after his parents’ divorce.

Impoverished old nobleman Bekina insists on marrying a wife, but his son Platon does not want to have sharer in father's inheritance. Platon finds two times widowed and childless bride for Bekina, but a fate makes fun of him.

The director dedicated this lyrical, epic film-confession to the memory of his father who was a doctor. The film’s protagonist, an ambulance doctor, conducts dangerous experiments in search of a vitally important vaccine. His wife believes in his work, though his daughter would not understand him. His son, who is absolutely unlike his father in character, is trying to protect him. But self-denial in the name of science proves too high a price. Just when he is on the verge of discovery, the doctor loses everything he has gathered as a result of his twenty-year-long work. This loss brings him even closer to his son. The shooting of the film continued for seven years (1985-1992), making it a metaphorical culmination of the Soviet cinematography and the Soviet way of life as a whole.

On the outskirts of the modern city, an old mill stands. Townspeople come here to grind corn, while waiting for their turn, they share memories of the past, discuss present concerns, joke, and argue.

Arriving in his native village, a young sculptor falls in love with one of the villager girl and decides to create a statue of her. This relationship ends with marriage after many vicissitudes.