Many trials befell Kuzma Malov at the beginning of the century, but they turned out to be nothing compared to what the former bailiff had to endure. The calendar shows the end of the 1930s, the time of mass repressions, and Malov, along with the whole country, will have to go through this cruel time, and then fight on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Meanwhile, an old enemy and an old friend will again appear next to Kuzma. In the frantic cycle of events, Malov, who had seemingly already lost all his relatives, suddenly finds a son about whom he had known nothing for many years. Or maybe the story with his son is just a cynical invention of two experienced swindlers?..