Alexander Pavlovich Reznikov is short of two hundred rubles (in the 1970s, about one and a half months’ salary for an office worker) to pay for the travel vouchers. His neighbor, a moonlighting contractor named Yura, offers Reznikov a way to earn the money in a single day. To do this, Alexander Palych must be present at the demolition of an old wooden house in the role of a foreman, while Yura will bring in students for the job. He will pay them ten rubles each, while they themselves will receive two hundred and fifty apiece. Reznikov agrees.

Lieutenant Colonel Klokov, commander of an air defense unit, is overseeing the construction of a strategically important facility. During the work, traces of an ancient settlement are discovered. Klokov takes responsibility and relocates the construction site to another location...