A group of Swedish tourists are on the way to a Russian village to witness the so called 'Festivity of Neptunus', in which the inhabitants take a dive in a hole in the ice. This tradition, however, does not exist at all. The inhabitants try to make a good impression by starting the 'tradition' to please the tourists.

The silly but practical mother of the quiet fool and dreamer Misha Balzaminov, knowing that her son cannot survive on his own abilities alone, does everything she can to marry him off profitably. Several times, Balzaminov's matchmaking ends not just in failure, but in a loud scandal with insults. However, after some time, happiness finally smiles on Misha. A certain Belotelova, one of the richest widows, a merchant's wife and a respected woman in the city, dying of boredom, asks a matchmaker to arrange her personal happiness. That's when Balmazhinov comes into the picture.