The life of VGIK student Andrei Pletnyov (Oleg Menshikov) is going smoothly, but he commits a serious crime to get money for a jailbreak of his former lover.
But their meeting after the successful escape does not bring happiness – during the years of separation they have become strangers to each other.
Through the whole picture the underlying theme is a popular topic of those times – emigration to America (Andrei is planning to go there no matter what happens and offers Tatiana to do the same).
After yet another nervous breakdown, without shying away Tatiana comes to the house of her lover Kolya and gets into the hands of the police.
Hopeless Andrei tries to find a way to get revenge on his opponent, he comes to him to iron out their relationship, but after getting seriously wounded with a knife, he sets off a grenade which explodes the whole apartment.