The main character (Pavel Tabakov) was a standout high school student and graduated from university with the highest honors. However, when he reached his 30s, he found himself feeling like a failure: his wife left him for a successful boxer, he got fired from a miserable job, and he had a mortgage that he would have to keep paying off for years. At his most desperate moment, he discovers that his cunning classmate has become a prosperous businessman and has announced a competition for high school students with a prize fund of over a million rubles. The main character looks much younger than he is; he even gets asked if he is of age when buying alcohol. He shaves off his beard, fakes his date of birth on his ID, and decides to take a chance in the competition, convinced that experience can overcome youth.