USSR, 1989. Vera Ignatieva, director of the House of Culture, is organizing the first beauty contest in the country to help young girls believe in themselves and open up new perspectives. The idea looks pro-Western, and the officials of the old formation are putting sticks in Vera's wheels, creating a lot of problems. But two years later, the dreams come crashing down: The Union is no more, and with it, the money. Vera has a hard time finding new sponsors to keep the contest going. And only then does she realize that her great desire to change the country with the help of beauty becomes a bargaining chip for rich merchants.

Albina's life changes in an instant: under threat of arrest, her oligarch husband leaves her, taking all the money with him. All that remains of the spouse are two children and a Russian factory on the verge of bankruptcy. Now Albina is forced to forget about the luxurious life in a London mansion and remember what she was told in business courses. Just to start life from scratch in a provincial town without a penny in her pocket, no one taught her.

High school student Polina is saved from bullying at her new school and makes a deal with the main bully Bars: he must pretend to be her boyfriend and protect her, and she must do everything he says. During this game, the couple develops real feelings, but her family and classmates have reasons to separate the lovers.