Vyacheslav Ermakov, a phony businessman and life-waster, owes a large sum to a crime boss and, to pay off his debt, is forced to agree to carry out his errand. But a fateful encounter occurs along the way. To survive, Slava must play a survival game. The film is unusual in the ambiguity of its antagonist and his motives, all set against the backdrop of class conflict and reflection on the collapse of the USSR.