1917, the eve of the February Revolution. Kirill Astakhov, a Bolshevik, one of the organizers of the suppressed riot, is transferred from the Siberian Archinsk prison to the Kutuisky stockade. He is accompanied by the warden Stepan Filimonov, who has his own scores to settle with politicians.

Antonio is a retired aviator in an unnamed country ruled by a military junta which violently suppresses any free thought. He falls in love with a member of the resistance against the dictatorship. He is arrested but escapes with his love. The code word among the resisters is: ‘Life is Beautiful’.

The action takes place in the 1920s. It is about the everyday work of criminal investigation staff in a provincial town, who are engaged in an unyielding battle against a well-organized gang of murderers and robbers.