The main character of the film, Lieutenant Yuri Nikitin, despite his young age, is appointed commandant of the small town of Jericho on the Elbe. At the same time, Nikitin must take on quite serious responsibilities for improving life in the town. The four—storey building is the commandant's office of Jericho. The house used to belong to Hans Lemke, the owner of a pig farm, bakery and cheese factory. The townspeople think Lemke is dead, but he's alive. He hides in a tunnel and watches everything that happens in the town through the optical sight of a sniper rifle, especially the young officer who has settled in his house.