37-year-old Sanya and 19-year-old Sparrow have been waiting vainly for salaries that are not forthcoming. With them are several Uzbeks, “held hostage” for want of cash. The factory where they work is on the point of closing down and in a state of abandon. Sanya wants to leave this dog’s life and return home to Tula, but can’t afford his train ticket. Sparrow would like to return to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, but he has no passport. While the lack of money stops Sanya sleeping, Sparrow lives from day to day and thinks only of having fun. In Tula, life isn’t a bed of roses either. On the phone, Sanya quarrels endlessly with his wife and mother, who don’t believe him when he describes his miserable living conditions and complains he hasn’t been paid. But between the devil and the deep blue sea, the right choice has to be made.