Alexi leaves the house of his father and stepmother and rents an apartment. He wants to be independent and find his place in the world. But no basic changes ensue – he has the same friends, with the same trivial conversations and the same inactivity. Only the death of his favorite teacher, to whom the young man felt very close, really changes his habitual way of life. Alexi makes a decision: he refuses a place at a research institute and leaves for a teaching job at a village school, the same school his mentor used to work at.

Действие фильма происходит в Москве и Токио в 1959 году. Японская женщина Кейко, мать двоих детей, и советский ученый профессор-иммунолог Гусев, создатель вакцины против полиомиелита, вопреки бюрократическому сопротивлению чиновников обеих стран, добиваются отправки нового лекарства в Японию. Так было спасено 10 миллионов японских детей. 　　Фильм снят на документальном материале.