A fugitive prisoner wanders into a distant hunting winter quarters, almost frozen in the taiga. A kind old hunter accepts him according to the Northern tradition: whoever the person is, he will first be fed, warmed, and only then asked where he is from and why. According to the same custom, everything that a traveler needs is left in the winter quarters: matches, dry firewood, salt, bread, cigarettes. But the villain did not appreciate the kindness of the hunter, stole his gun from him and the old man paid for the kindness with his life. Based on the story by V. Shukshin.