1941. The very first task leads the novice intelligence officer Vitaly Samarin to Riga occupied by the Germans. Very quickly Samarin comes to understand that a real scout is always alone - there is no one to share doubts, consult, share joy. Only mean lines of encryption go to the Center, behind which there are waiting hours, days of hard work, months of painful search... The novel was awarded the first prize of the USSR State Security Committee.