After Stalin’s death, a mass amnesty for prisoners takes place in the USSR, and the country is gripped by a tense criminal situation. Ivan Astafyev, who went through the war and ended up in a labor camp for killing two scoundrels, returns to his hometown of Gorky. While helping his brother deal with dangerous blackmailers, Astafyev finds himself drawn into a confrontation between criminals and law enforcement. The police force Ivan to infiltrate the gang of the powerful Khariton, who keeps the entire city in fear. Astafyev wants to restore his reputation and start life with a clean slate, but unexpectedly meets his old love, Lida, who has become another man’s wife. To find out how the hero’s story unfolds, watch «Gorky 53» online on ivi.
