Freedom is in the right to be human. But being human is never easy.

August 1978. Kremikovtsy Steel Plant. Heat, iron, dust and the pervasive smell of oil. A typical workday of a crew of maximum security inmates will prove to be fateful for all of them. They find something extraordinary inside one of the machines and an unexpected wave of compassion makes the prisoners take hostages and block the entrance to the workshop. The men risk their lives willingly because sometimes the desire to be human is stronger than the survival instinct. And the dream of salvation blurs common sense.