The life of the provincial city was stirred up by a series of terrible and inexplicable crimes. Circumstantial evidence pointed to the involvement of a well-respected TV host of a popular program in the gang's affairs. He is opposed by Ivan Sklyar, a brave and experienced judge, an irreconcilable "cracker-lawyer". The intimidated and bribed jury acquits the murderer, and for Ivan Sklyar, who conducted the trial, proving guilt becomes a matter of life. The judge's personal life is complicated by the fact that his wife leaves him, and his daughter falls in love with a suspected criminal ...