At the institute where the film's protagonist, sociologist Sergei Luzhin, works, an investigation is underway into his misconduct: he left confidential data at the factory where he was conducting a sociological survey. The contents of the data become known to the workshop staff, and a conflict arises when it becomes clear that the official head of the workshop, Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who got her position through nepotism, does not enjoy authority in the workshop and that there is an unofficial leader in the workshop — engineer Uglov.
