Oleg Nikitin

Two friends, yesterday's workers, return to the plant as engineers. Andrey becomes the head of the workshop, and Pavel becomes an employee of the State Supervision Authority for Quality. A conflict arises between friends: Andrey “drives quantity,” Pavel tries to prevent the production of low-quality parts.

At the site where Mikhail Sveshnev was working, the roof collapsed, crushing one of the miners. At the risk of his life, Mikhail saved his comrade, but the foreman lied to Sveshnev and blamed him for the accident. The commission identified the true culprits of the accident, but Mikhail, feeling alienated by the team, left for home. Thinking about what had happened and failing to find a job to his liking, he returned to the mine.

The director of a metallurgical plant receives a task from the ministry: in a short period of time (from winter to winter) to master the production of a new grade of steel necessary for the construction of a gas pipeline in the Far North. The plant team, under the guidance of a professional, successfully solves technological problems and completes the task.