Grisha secretly leaves for the virgin lands without his mother’s permission. The young man quickly adapts to the new hardships and soon, despite his age, becomes one of the leaders of the brigade. Grisha’s mother, Pelageya Maksimovna, arrives at the virgin-land state farm to take her son home, but she ends up staying there and, with motherly love, cooks food for the young pioneers of the virgin lands, who become as dear to her as her own son.