The year is 1953. Due to the mass amnesty, the criminal situation in the USSR is tense. At the same time, Ivan Astafyev, a former commander of a reconnaissance platoon, who was released from prison, returns to his hometown of Gorky. And immediately becomes a victim of an attack by bandits, and then a false accusation of beating the attackers. Ivan's pre—war acquaintance, Captain Shvedov, helps out of trouble, who gets him a job at the Dynamo sports society to train policemen in hand-to-hand combat.
But it does not work out to lead a peaceful life: Ivan is drawn into a cycle of violent crimes, in one of which his brother and his wife are killed. Astafyev is again under suspicion. He is forced to make a secret deal with the police, organize an ostentatious escape and demand to infiltrate Gorky's most powerful gang. The hero must trap its leader Khariton, rid the city of crime and finally regain his life.
