In the near future, writer Victor Banev gets himself on a UN commission to investigate what's going on in the remote town of Tashlinsk, where reports tell of a virus-created race of brainiac mutants. Banev's tween daughter Ira is enrolled at a school for gifted children which has been taken over by the mutants, who have grown to despise ordinary humanity.

1829: Nikolay Gogol, troubled Third Section clerk, burns his own books. Epileptic seizures plague him. Investigator Yakov Guro discovers Gogol's visions hold crime-solving clues. Together, they tackle a baffling case in Dikanka, where everyone hides a dark secret.

The mongrel Lyolik becomes a witness to the arguments between his young owners, and attempts to reconcile them. Lyolik is a very unusual dog: he talks (ruminates, to be more precise) offscreen, in the tones of a street hoodlum to boot, which is no surprise since he spent his early childhood on the streets. Lyolik is not indifferent to his owners, and tries with all his power to help them with their problems. But alas, all that people hear is a dog’s barking…