Alexey on the eve of the defense of the degree of Doctor of Science. Everything is prepared for this event. However, the plans were not destined to come true - the news of the death of his half-brother, who went to war in Chechnya, comes. The killer who ordered Aslan to be buried alive is a Russian officer who is left alive and unpunished. Alexei's measured life ends. The stranger who reported the news pushes him to retaliate. While tracking the murderer in the courtyard of his house, Alex meets a lonely woman, Vera, who lives in the apartment next door to the killer. Their relationship is formed against the background of preparation for revenge.

The stranger finds the addresses of the killer, but he is arrested by a riot police patrol. Alexei writes a will and goes to the fish farm, where he finds the officer already dead. Trying to warn Alex that they may be looking for her, Vera rushes to his house, and, having managed to convey a message through the boy on roller skates, she falls under the car.