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.

A ghost and a French marquis wander through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, encountering scenes from many different periods of its history.

In an apocalyptic future, human survivors are used as slaves and prostitutes for Synthetics – cyborgs with human brains. When the first baby in 30 years is born and then captured by the Synths, the human race revolts in order to save the infant.

At the center of it is the fate of young women in the war and in the harsh post-war times, when witch-hunting of "enemies of the people" was a common occurrence. The brutal war is mutilating both the girls' bodies and their souls. Location: military hospital. It is just a backdrop to which the character rattles, the intrigue, the human relationships. The pathos of the tape conveys the idea that a woman is and remains a woman in all circumstances and situations. During the tumultuous years of war, they were also overwhelmed by true love, mutual understanding, trust and tenderness.

When long-time British agent Harry Palmer loses his job because the Cold War is over, he's promptly approached by a Russian bossman, Alex. In St. Petersburg Alex tells Harry of his plan for Russia's future, which is threatened because a deadly biochemical weapon called the Red Death has been stolen from him. He'll pay Harry handsomely to retrieve it. An ex-spy friend tips Harry off that it's being sent to Beijing by train, aboard which we begin to learn whose side everyone's really on.

Jessica, an American ballerina, reluctantly enrolls in a Russian dance academy, where she meets the charismatic choreographer Anthony. A dead ringer for his long dead lover, Jessica becomes his favorite student -- and his personal obsession.

Boris Zhadanovsky, a hereditary nobleman and officer who was predicted to have a brilliant military career, sides with the rebellious people. In 1905, Zhadanovsky is sentenced to death for his revolutionary activities. However, a powerful strike movement organized in response to the court's decision forces the tsarist government to commute the sentence to life imprisonment. After the revolution, Zhadanovsky joins the Red Army and dies fighting the White Army.