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This film was supposed to be released in 1973. Five hundred and thirty five copies were made but the film was shelved (as was virtually everything else directed by Kira Muratova) until 1987, when it was finally released to considerable critical acclaim. It received a FIPRESCI award (International Press Award) at the Locarno Film Festival, and the Grand Prize of the All-Union Film Festival in Tbilisi in 1987. In this movie, a single woman has put all her efforts into raising her only son, Sasha. When Sasha grew up to become a teenager, she thought that she could have some time for herself, so she responds to the courtship of Nikolai Sergeyevich. One summer, Sasha goes to visit his real father in Novosibirsk, on the other side of the country. When he returns, his mother notices that Sasha had changed. She secretly reads a letter that Sasha received from his father and she finds out that Sasha doesn't want to live with her any longer. She doesn't have enough wisdom to understand this desire on someone else's part. Sasha is shown to have a more delicate and understanding nature than his mother, for when he realizes that she is suffering because of his wish to leave, even though he is tired of her nagging, he decides to stay.