Three naval cadets accidentally get possession of a secret diary that was stolen from Bestuzhev, a vice-chancellor of Russia. If this diary ever gets abroad, the consequences for the country would be grave. The cadets are trying to return the papers to their owner, but there are others who want to get the papers...

After living half of his life, the protagonist remembers that somewhere in a provincial town lives his ex-wife and his grown-up son. He goes to a place where he is neither expected nor remembered.