An ex-convict Viktor Dremov, who is also an ex-boxer, tries to mend his ways and start a new life but his former girlfriend is marrying another man (some old antiquarian), while local thugs rob him of his car and press him constantly trying to make him work for them. Being framed and hunted he should kill them all before he becomes a broken or a dead man.

A rare astronomical phenomenon — the parade of planets — has a strange effect on several men. The heroes of the film — an astrophysicist, locksmith, salesman, architect, loader, trolley bus driver — are called up for military training, which ends ahead of time. There is a strange pause in their life — no one knows where they are, no one is waiting for them, and they themselves can not rush anywhere. This short respite in a hasty and busy life gives the heroes the opportunity to experience strong and very important feelings for them.