Vera Inber

The stationmaster of a railway station situated in the steppes of Kazakhstan discovers a rubber-bearing plant. Soon, an expeditionary team arrives, led by Professor Shakhron, who will persistently argue—by hook or by crook—that there are no rubber-bearing plants in these steppes, all the while plotting a trip abroad. In ultimately exposing the professor, the team forces him to admit to concealing the results of their work.

During the brutal siege of Leningrad in the Second World War, musicians are able to stage a public performance of the Seventh Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich.