A provincial town in the south of the USSR, 1962. Lyuda, a devout Communist Party official and idealistic veteran of WWII, is a scourge of anything she perceives as anti-Soviet sentiment. Together with other local Party officials, she is taken by surprise by a strike at the local factory, in which her own daughter is taking part. As the situation quickly spirals out of control, Lyuda begins a desperate search for her daughter in the face of curfews, mass arrests, and the authorities' ruthless attempts to cover up the state violence. Her once unquestioning faith in the Party line is shaken by her growing awareness of its human toll, tearing apart the world she thought she knew.