In a small Volga town, the chairman of the trade union committee of a large plant, Yuri Trutov, was killed. The investigation, headed by police lieutenant colonel Artem Malakhov, believes that the murder could have been ordered by Trutov’s wife. Shortly before this, he sold a controlling interest in a large southern sanatorium and kept the money in a family account. The deceased's mistress, Eva, the sister of local crime bosses, was also under suspicion. Perhaps this was her response to unrequited feelings... Lieutenant Colonel Malakhov is trying to find a plausible version, meanwhile, the suspects in the case suddenly begin a real war with the police...