Kvarkvare is wrongly accused of activities against the Tsar and is imprisoned, but the Socialist Revolution makes him an imposter "hero". Blinded with the authority, he goes to far in his avenge against the whole village.

A journey in a second-class passenger car in Soviet Georgia. People are squeezed into cramped seats, some of them trying to get comfortable on lying places - shelves. The main "entertainment" is an elegant blond man who claims he is an actor and has traveled the world. His stories mesmerize most of the passengers. Nevertheless, there is a man of stern appearance who differs from the masses. He travels with a trained sparrow hidden in his coat and does not believe the tales of the so-called actor, and openly declares it. The men get into a fight...

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.