Katya Solntseva is suspected of murdering her own husband, a successful businessman. There is only one person who is confident in the accused’s innocence — Katya’s friend, Lidia. She is desperately looking for ways to save her troubled friend, but her husband, who could help, flatly refuses to get involved in the case.

In 1948, a young director, Viktor Kostrov, is arrested after being denounced by his lover’s father. Beria’s inquisition, the horrors of camp life, and the vengeance of criminals form the grim backdrop for the story’s characters: a sadistic warden, a camp boss, Viktor’s terrified fiancée, and her father, an NKVD officer. Based on the autobiographical story by Gennady Beglov.