Kira Georgievna is a famous sculptor. She has a loving husband, friends, and fans. She seems quite happy. But one day the past breaks into Kira's well-adjusted life: Vadim, her first husband, appears. In '37, he was repressed and spent 20 years in camps.
When the Soviets impose new ways of collective farming and permanent settlements on a region of nomadic dwellers, young Ilyas is separated from his mother, Mariam. Through decades of war, mother and son persevere in their efforts to be reunited.
In the center of the painting is the story of the artist Troshcheikin, his wife Lyuba, her mother and sister. They live abroad, in a provincial small town populated by compatriots. The unexpected return to the city of a certain Barbashin turns the life of the family upside down. Five years ago, in a fit of jealousy, this man shot at Troshcheikin and his wife, wounded them and, after going to prison for six years, promised to return and finish what he started…
