Anatoliy Kuznetsov

October 1941. The young surgeon Vera Treshnikova is forced, in the name of saving many lives, to become the head of a German hospital for civilians, where she continued her underground struggle against the Germans. And now, after the liberation of the city, she is suspected of aiding and abetting the Nazis.

A group of scientists is sent to the planet Arkanar to help the local civilization, which is in the Medieval phase of its own history, to find the right path to progress. Their task is a difficult one: they cannot interfere violently and in no case can they kill. The scientist Rumata tries to save the local intellectuals from their punishment and cannot avoid taking a position.