A guide, Konstantin Sabin, and three geologists—Tanya, Andrei, and Sergei—are brought by plane to the boreal forest of central Siberia to search for diamonds.

During the plane ride, Konstantin begins writing a letter to his wife detailing his feelings about the expedition.

After failing to find diamonds while panning in rivers, the group begin a protracted job excavating on a mountainside with pickaxes.

When they have reached the point of complete exhaustion, Tanya finally spots diamonds in the earth, leading the group to carry on a rapturous celebration.

Andrei uses his radio to inform the base camp in Petrov about the discovery, and the group prepare to return to civilization, packing their supplies in their canoe.

According to Jaime N. Christley of Slant Magazine, having started with "pristine materials", "Criterion's blue-ribbon authoring is, of course, flawless, as is their uncompressed monaural track, which is as dense with human lamentations as mother nature's libidinous, murderous roar."