Eight-year-old Kirill has big problems: he struggles at school, his parents are boring, and he has nowhere to put his lame stray dog. In short, he is at odds with the whole world. Then he meets journalist Vadim, who is easy to get along with and interesting. Vadim's interest is genuine — after all, Kirill is named after his deceased friend.

Ivanhoe is the story of one of the remaining Saxon noble families at a time when the nobility in England was overwhelmingly Norman. It follows the Saxon protagonist, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who is out of favor with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king Richard the Lionheart. The story is set in 1194, after the failure of the Third Crusade, when many of the Crusaders were still returning to their homes in Europe. King Richard, who had been captured by Leopold of Austria on his return journey to England, was believed to still be in captivity.