Residents of Moscow are infected with an unknown deadly virus, the main symptoms of which are coughing and discoloration of the eyes; after three to four days, death occurs.

As the disease becomes an epidemic, the Russian capital gradually turns into a city of the dead: there is no electric power, money has lost its value, chaos and lawlessness reign everywhere, and gangs of marauders gather.

There, on a small deserted island in the middle of Vongozero, they plan to hide from the threat of infection in a refuge ship that has been converted into a camping cabin.

[7] In October 2020, the producer of the series, Yevgeny Nikishov, announced that the plot would not be based on Living People, the sequel to Vongozero.

[13][14] Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky denied media reports that he was involved in the controversy, saying, "there is no censorship in our country" and that the episode's removal was of a "technical nature".