The plot of the film is based on real events that took place in the summer of 1958 on one of the beaches of Absheron, when Tofik Huseynov, a schoolboy from Baku, drowned in the sea while saving drowning children. The film begins before the opening credits: on a deserted beach by the raging sea, a young man, exhausted, pulls drowning girls out of the waves. One, then another, then a third... Then he rushes for the fourth, but drowns with her.

A young engineer Dmitriy Zherekhov who came to the aircraft plant is trying to prove to the director that it is necessary to switch to new methods of organizing production. He is supported by both experienced test engineer Aleksei Sedykh and test engineer Lyudmila Rudneva. Lyudmila likes Dmitriy, but his rigidity and rationalism complicate their relationship...

The main character is a talented, but timid writer of the Filippok experiencing with his country the difficult years of revolution, devastation and war. Adversity helps him overcome the unrequited and faithful love for the widow of Commissioner Zinochka, who bossily manages his career, not hesitating to start novels with other men. Filippok will describe the story of his life in a book that at the end of days will be presented by a terminally ill, but still dearly beloved wife, with gratitude for the experience.