Tenth-grader Nikolai Olkhovnikov from the provincial town of Olkhovka wrote a heartfelt protest to the newspaper, accusing the "town fathers" of unjust actions. The boy became an outcast in town, but no matter how much his few friends and old teacher tried to warn him, he did not retract his words. And some time later, a letter arrived in the same newspaper with a report of Nikolai's death during a fight with rowdy boys who decided to teach the young truth-seeker a lesson.