A rusty old barge named after the hero of the Civil War, "Eugene Runda", and simply "E.Runda", goes to Benjamin Schneerson for debts. Seeing his new "snow-white vessel", Venya decides to send it to scrap. A team gathers on board the barge: senior assistant Gromov, senior mechanic, cook Raya, sailors, assistant chief mechanic Skiba. The team lacks only a captain. By chance, a young man Oleg gets into the port, to whom Venya offers to lead the crew. Oleg, finding himself in a desperate situation, agrees.