Before the wedding, Anna has a long conversation with her mother, Elena Andreyevna, about her father, General Alexander Vasilyevich Novozhilov, whom she hasn’t seen in years.

However, their meeting is interrupted by the general’s second wife, Klavdia Nikolaevna, whose rude behavior drives Anna and Yevgeny to leave abruptly.

Their expedition takes a dramatic turn when a plague outbreak occurs in a neighboring region, placing their worksite under quarantine.

During the dig, Yevgeny discovers a valuable sixth-century coin but risks his life to save an infected driver.

She arranges for a phone line to be installed in Yevgeny’s room and continues participating in the excavation while awaiting his recovery.