The action takes place in the 1930s and 1940s in Chukotka. With the establishment of Soviet power, changes are coming to the camp. The main character — hunter Poygin — does not realize the significance of what is happening immediately. There is a series of events: a collision with a Black shaman who tried to take away a beloved woman from a hunter, a meeting with the head of the cultural base Medvedev, etc. Poygin observes the events that ultimately determine his life position. He becomes chairman of the first collective farm in Chukotka..