This is a key example of Kalatozov and cinematographer Urusevsky's legendary photographic style. Four determined geologists-three men and a woman (Tatiana Samoilova)-set out to locate the vast diamond deposits which supposedly exist in Yukatia, the coldest and most sparsely populated region in Asia. After a forest fire, autumn rains, sickness, and winter frost and snow, in the end there is only one survivor to reach civilization and tell of the hard-won victory. Dennis Jakob wrote: "With each passing year this film gains in greatness and stature, for the 'story' is in actuality the most profound examination of man against nature ever filmed. It took a Russian to do it well. The conflict is looked at with eyes that seem to be supersaturated with `The World as Will and Idea.' Its bleak, pessimistic view of the outcome (is) a powerful testament to the existence of the most neglected subgenre in movies: The Schopenhauerian Cinema."