Plot Summary

Naval officer Klimov returns from a deployment only to discover that his wife has been unfaithful—with Lieutenant Zvyagin. Shocked and disoriented, Klimov strikes his rival in public, during duty hours and on military grounds—a serious breach for which he pays the price. Refusing to explain the cause of the altercation, Klimov is demoted and transferred to the Northern Fleet. There, he must work to restore his reputation as a composed and confident commander…