In the early 20th century, in the surroundings of a luxurious boarding house and casino, the story of a mature woman and an immature young man unfolds. He is obsessed with gambling, she with the desire to save him with her love. It happened twenty years ago. The elderly noble lady recalls her experience in her youth and, with the benefit of hindsight, explains and defends it.

A new teacher arrives at the school and discovers in sixth-grader Linda a talented and sensitive girl who bravely struggles with the growing problems of her age. "Magic" awakens in her the will to overcome the insurmountable - to believe in herself. The fact that Linda is able to pass on her experience to her little protégé, first-grader Mishka, is proof that she has succeeded.