Moscow, 1902. The famous director Konstantin Stanislavsky, in search of inspiration for staging a new play, decides to get acquainted with the life of the city "bottom". He turns to Vladimir Gilyarovsky, a recognized expert on the Moscow slums, for help.

A young German, Werner Müller, turns out to be a volunteer in the neurological department of an ordinary St. Petersburg hospital. A foreigner, overwhelmed by the impulse to help all the sick and needy, has a long and eventful day ahead of him. Every now and then, finding himself in comical situations and making his way through misunderstandings, the volunteer discovers all the facets of the Russian national character.

In late 18th-century Russia, village life is shaped by a fusion of rural superstitions, pagan beliefs and traces of Orthodox Christianity. Twin girls are violently separated when one is believed to be possessed, accused of draining the vitality of her sister. Meanwhile, a young man, branded a freak and outcast, obsessively constructs mechanical wings in a desperate attempt to fly like Icarus. Overseeing this turbulent world are Europeanised feudal lords who maintain brutal, cynical control over the peasants, exacerbating class tensions.

Upon returning home from his Grand Embassy, Peter the Great enters into a prolonged war with Sweden to secure access to the Baltic Sea. His path to victory is paved with setbacks, treachery, and deceit. Only by overcoming these challenges will he become Emperor, find true love, and establish Russia as a great empire.

The action takes place during the Great Patriotic War. The protagonist, a Siberian hunter Gavriil Sobinov, volunteers for the front after learning that his son Semyon, a young lieutenant, is missing. Gavriil wants to fights the enemy and find his son, but instead of the front lines, he finds himself in a supply platoon. He proves himself a hero in his very first combat and, after training at the sniper school, gets to the front lines. Gavriil is made commander of the sniper group. He continues the search for his son. The story of a German sniper Werner develops in parallel. He also ends up at the front with his son Dietrich fighting alongside him. A clash between the sniper fathers, whom fate is inexorably bringing together, is inevitable...

Prince Romanovsky's estate is burned down to the ground, and his family is exterminated by a French detachment led by the madman Elif Courage. Young Mikhail miraculously survives, saved by a mysterious lone partisan whom the French call the Ghost. Dreaming of revenge, the prince sets out with the Ghost, unaware of the trials that lie ahead...