The story takes place in Russia in the 1900s. In a working suburb live factory workers with their families, and all their lives are completely tied to the factory. Only a young man, Pavel Vlasov, unexpectedly for his mother Pelageya, the widow of a mechanic, begins to live differently.
On holidays he goes into town, bringing back books, reading a lot. When his mother asks questions, Pavel answers: “I want to know all the truth, so I read banned books; if they find them on me, they’ll put me in prison.”