One New Year's Eve, photojournalist Gosha meets a strange old man who introduces himself as an inventor. His latest invention is kept in a briefcase, and he eagerly uses the device to determine the field and degree of talent of anyone willing to try it. The old man predicts that Gosha is destined to become a clown, but Gosha refuses to believe him and, against the inventor's advice, pursues a career as a journalist.