Elena Pavlova

The composition includes two short stories: "The Swineherd" (based on the fairy tale by H.C. Andersen) and "Heaven and Hell" (based on the short story by P. Merime).

The famous textile worker Natasha Abrikosova travels from Moscow to Tashkent to introduce the innovative method of the Vinogradovs at a textile mill (E. Vinogradova was the film's technical consultant). However, the director of the plant, Rizaev (a hidden enemy), is trying with all his might to thwart Abrikosova's plan. Having chosen Asal as her assistant, the girl soon achieves a record output and, thereby, provokes Rizaev to an open crime.

At a Crimean resort two friends try to pick up girls.

Foma Gordeyev, the son of a wealthy Volga merchant, doesn't want to continue his father's work. The mind is sickened by the dirt and injustice of life around him. Foma is seeking solace in a drunken rampage and wild antics. After many years of desolation, he is half-ill at the opening of a night shelter built with his father’s money.