Childless spouses writer Andrei and artist Olga adopt the eight-year-old Ksyusha. The director of the orphanage where the girl was brought up is Andrei Iren's ex-girlfriend. She still passionately loves Andrei and intends to return him at all costs, even if for this he will have to destroy his family happiness. Meanwhile, Andrei is writing a science fiction novel about the dark side of Petersburg. On the pages of his book, the city on the Neva turns into a phantasmagoric world, where time itself...