In the film, most evident talent Tengiz Abuladze to the poetic and philosophical generalization, grows out of ordinary, sometimes comic, sometimes sad but always simple facts of life. The film tells about the life in the Georgian village. And they cover a fairly significant piece of the life heroes: peace in the Great Patriotic War and the war years. Abuladze managed to save the picture in the lyrical, painted a soft tone of humor - the main stylistic feature story Nodar Dumbadze, ubereg touching scenes of flying sentimentality and drama up to the tragic tension.

An author - a passive young man - enters the Soviet-controlled bureaucracy of Georgia attempting to get his novel published only to be neglected and compartmentalized at every turn.