The story takes place during Perestroika and the years preceding it. The head of the small arms warehouse, Warrant Officer Kudashkin, taking advantage of the circumstances, collects from spare parts and removes from the military unit an unaccounted for military weapon, a carbine. He does not need weapons for sale or for committing robberies. Kudashkin, actually disabled and in all respects a “small” person in life, is quiet and modest. He is raising his daughter alone and feels a sense of shame that he cannot be a worthy father to her and, if necessary, protect her.