The story begins in Odessa in 1917. Kotovsky is released from prison once again and is greeted boisterously and joyfully by a crowd of relatives and friends. Cheerful familiar faces flash before his eyes, making him mentally return to the past. Still a teenager, he took part in fights and hooligan antics at school. It was there that Grisha met his first love. After graduating, Kotovsky did not shy away from swindling either. A little later, a turning point comes when he meets the Socialist Revolutionaries and announces to his family that he has been called to the front to defend free Russia.