This impressionistic silent Russian film follows the trials and tribulations of farmers on a collective who come into conflict with more affluent "kulak" landowners. Led by Vasili (Semyon Savshenko), the farmers pool their resources to buy a tractor, a triumphant development that soon yields to tragedy. Despite the hardships that they face, the farmers press on, with their connection to the land evident in the film's many moments of scenic rural beauty.