Professor Sretenski is a scientist and director of a research center in Russia. He is separated from his wife and lives alone. His daughter, who lives with the mother, comes to his home and stays with him for a period, leaving her daughter with him. He raises his granddaughter, feeling a great affection for her.

Two students are late for the last commuter train and have to spend a night in a strange town. They rack their brains about where to find shelter and quite by chance they overhear a talk between father and son. The son is an adolescent who is head over heels in love with a girl several years his senior. He is living through the first drama of his life though his love is just puppy love. Then, being resourceful fellows, they think of a plan to pass one of them for the elder son of this family. The reason they give for his unexpected arrival is that he is a child of the father's long-forsaken love. They presume this cock-and-bull story will come off, and right they are!

After serving in the army, working at BAM and earning himself the authority and fame of a pioneer, the hero took a leave of absence and came home to his friends and beloved. But at home he could not find anything to do and, without waiting for the end of his vacation, he left again for BAM...

When a young man wants to marry a poor girl, her cousin envies her very much. She even makes everybody believe that the main character was in love with her. He escapes from many difficulties in order to find his beloved who also became trapped in a luxurious villa with some strange relatives. The people inside villa are vampires, they were called upyri in those days in Russia. They suck blood of anyone who comes to see them. The young man too much in love so he looses his head and goes directly to the nest of vampires.

Newlyweds-builders are handed the keys to the apartment at the Komsomol wedding. Having learned that the house has not yet been completed, the young decide to take the office of the secretary of the Komsomol committee of the construction site.

A graduate of a technical university starts working in the supply department of a large factory. Enthusiastic, the hero doesn't get bored; instead, he successfully implements the latest advancements in electronic computing technology into the factory's operations.

A young poet at a social ball invited a beautiful stranger to dance and received a challenge to a duel from a jealous husband. The duel took place, but the bullet flying to the poet's heart stuck into a gold coin that ended up in his jacket pocket. The inspired poet wrote a number of short stories about the voyage of the golden one, the characters of which are a cheerful sailor, a greedy innkeeper, his wife and her lover...

Based on the stories of A.P. Chekhov.

The characters remember their youth, which took place during the Civil War. The events of those years had a decisive impact on their lives - Kolobov became a career officer, and Svedomsky became a famous pianist.