The old forester dies in a fight with poachers, and his faithful friend, the lynx Kunak, goes into the taiga. The new forester Drozdov wants to bring Kunak back and patiently accustoms the lynx to himself.

Spring, 1945. Sasha, who lost her parents, goes to the village of Vyselki to find her aunt there. Her last hope for the existence of a loved one does not come true. But acquaintance with ordinary residents of the village, an unexpected love for the forester and a first feeling of joy from the necessary work return the girl the thirst for life.

The youth construction team celebrated Anatoly and Varya's wedding with fun. Without giving importance to the first quarrel, Varya, however, once admitted to herself that she did not understand Anatoly's aspirations for a cozy furnished life. She tried painfully to understand her husband, who was jealous not only of her work, but also of her friend Kostya. When the spats became more frequent, Varya took little Vasilk with her and traveled to the Urals together with the installers.

Kraskov and Vera have long loved each other. They are unable to part, however, and connect their destinies can not and have already accepted the circumstances of life: he has a family, three children. A chance meeting in Moscow with a young couple, familiar with the rest in the South, pushes them to a decisive step…

Lilya (Marina Zubanova) is an approaching-middle-age singleton who lives with and cares for her grandfather and works at a chicken factory. She is determined to get married soon, but hasn’t quite found the man for the job. Most of the story revolves around various failed dates, her conversations with coworkers and family members, and her innocent stalking of a talented local pianist.

In the Soviet airbase, occupied by the Nazis, a resistance group occurs, led by a modest girl Anna Morozova. For each victory (important, albeit small on a scale of the war) they have to pay a heavy price.

The story about a very small god-forgotten village in Siberia reflects the history of Russia from the beginning of the century till the early 1980s. Three generations try to find the land of happiness and to give it to the people. One builds the road through taiga to the star over horizon, the second 'build communism' and the third searches for oil.

1968 film by Miklós Jancsó