A forty-year old who lived a comfortable life in the Soviet Union, ends up in Georgia in the difficult condition of having to adapt to change. She is granted a loan at a high interest rate and little by little becomes drowned in debt, trapped in a vicious circle that she can’t get out of.

Set in 1937 Stalinist Georgia, the film traces the parallel destinies of a mother, condemned by the government as "an enemy of the people" and exiled to a work camp in Siberia, and her daughter, who meanwhile is sent to an orphanage. Arriving at the overcrowded work camp, the mother and other women who are not considered strong enough to be labourers, must journey still farther, crossing the icy Siberian landscape in search of food and shelter. At the same time, the daughter escapes the orphanage and returns to her former home, where she finds that a KGB officer has taken up residence. He protects her and an uneasy rapport between them develops—one of abhorrence and attraction, need and suspicion.

The parable tells the story of a prince who embarks on a journey across the land in search of happiness, but is unable to find a caring person anywhere.