Faced with insurmountable problems, five young Muscovites flee to a monastery near the half-abandoned village of Topi. They view the trip as an adventure, a long-awaited freedom from worries, and an opportunity to forget. However, the journey turns into a series of mysterious events that only brings closer what they fled from and make them doubt the reality of what's happening.
Antonina, an artist from Saint Petersburg, follows her husband, a political prisoner, to the deep north province of Russia. As she starts teaching art in a local school, she finds herself opposed by a twelve-year-old boy, Misha, whose brother is a feared local gang leader.
Father Alexander is trying to maintain peaceful life for his church amidst the Nazi occupation during WWII.
