A young man arrives in a village on the White Sea. He comes in search of a girl who ran away from the city without saying goodbye. An old man from among the locals offers to show him the way. Neither the young man nor the old imagine what trials await them along the way.

The story unfolds in St. Petersburg during the season of White Nights, when night becomes curiously indistinguishable from day. Masha has struck it lucky: she is about to wed an American, Tim, eager to bring home a beautiful Russian wife. This marriage can take her light-years beyond her simple provincial roots, but for now Masha has a family to take care of, and she dutifully sends all the wages she earns to them. To save money she even dupes her fiancée by returning the expensive wedding dress he has bought for her to the boutique and sawing an identical one for herself. The night before the wedding Masha hastens to meet Tim, but fails to make it to the other side of the River Neva before the drawbridge is raised. The betrothed find themselves standing on the pavement with the mighty river between them...