A story about sixteen years old youths learning the painter profession.

Based on the unfinished play by Maxim Gorky "Yakov Bogomolov" about human dignity, that the main stimulus of life is creative work for the benefit of people. Engineer Yakov Bogomolov is a "workaholic" man. He gives himself all to his work, is carried away by it so much that he does not notice what is happening around him. Young wife Olga is cheating on him, friends betray, companions do not understand and deceive...