Vladimir Suvorov, a retired military man who spent 25 years in the Air Force, comes to visit Tamara, a saleswoman in the small village of Olkhovka. They met in the south, struck up a brief holiday romance, and Tamara couldn't imagine their story could continue. She invites Vladimir to live together for a while, get to know each other, and then decide what to do next.
Writer Kruglikov lives next door to Tamara. With his royalties, he could have lived in Europe, but he chose Olkhovka. According to him, this is the real Russia, which the city's intellectuals don't know and fear. At first glance, the village is a perfect idyll—everyone has a job, the best doctors in the region, and virtually no crime—live and be happy. But whether Suvorov will settle here is not up to him or Tamara to decide, but to the village's true master—Mayor Nikolai Bobr, who is accustomed to calling the shots and dictating the laws in his territory. Will Suvorov, who has spent his entire life following orders, be able to live by the rules by which all of Olkhovka lives?
