Oleg agrees with Bars on a "lightning rod." But he makes a condition: Gavrilych must go to the "Lake" with Oleg. Gavrilych is frightened - the area in which it will be necessary to go is considered to be “rotten” and dangerous for prisoners. Oleg and Gavrilych are transferred to the same cell with Bars. Meanwhile, police officer Vasily Belobrovy, who was bribed by Barca’s people, is given the task of swapping documents in the criminal cases of Oleg and Bars. To do this, Vasily begins to look after an employee of the prison archive.