Aleksey Temnikov is a renowned ballet dancer and an acknowledged genius whose career was abruptly cut short after sustaining an injury in the 1990s. Twenty years later, Aleksey discovers that his condition is degenerative and that he will soon lose the ability to walk. Aleksey sets out to choreograph a ballet he envisaged long before but never staged for fear of failure. “What will I leave behind after I am gone?” is a question Aleksey feels he must contend with. However, returning to the world of ballet will not be easy for a man who has made so many enemies over the course of his life.

Something broke down in Andrey and Nadia's marriage. He goes to live in Moscow, she and the children stay in Irkutsk. On New Year's Eve, the family gets together again, but it seems to be the last time. The word "divorce" sounds quite definite. On January 1, it would seem that everything has already been decided, but a whole chain of events - funny, sad, sometimes even strange and inexplicable - seems to be keeping the family from taking the wrong step. They will all get lost and find each other on this magical night on the island of Olkhon and realize that past grievances are easy to forget, but there is something much more important in life.