30-year-old Maria, a tender but reserved woman, is happily married with one son - happily that is, until her husband, Igor disappears one day under mysterious circumstances. Igor's life was insured for a considerable sum of money, which leads the police to suspect that Maria must have murdered him. When she is put in prison, Maria entrusts the care of her son to her best friend, Tamara. In a couple of months, however, Tamara and the boy's visits to Maria in prison cease as do their responses to Maria's telephone messages. It is at this time that Maria learns that her husband is alive and well, but living with Tamara in another city under a new name and using the insurance money which had been transferred to Maria's son and entrusted to Tamara as the boy's guardian. Maria leaves prison six years later, but under the terms of her release, she must report regularly to the police station.