On the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945, a nuclear bomb with a uranium charge was dropped - the United States was the only state that possessed nuclear weapons. In the USSR, extraordinary measures were being taken to speed up work on the atomic project, but to no avail. The reason was simple: there was no uranium in the country. Despite the post-war devastation, already in early 1946, geological exploration parties were organized, the entire territory of the USSR was covered by uranium prospecting works. The hero of the film is a geologist on one of these expeditions. But when his friend dies, his life begins to change.