A slice of life among Russian intelligentsia on the eve of WWII. A haunting reminder of Stalin's psychotic purge of 1938 and the nightmarish German siege of Leningrad.

While detained in one of the Soviet Gulags (prison work camps), Maria fell in love with and had a child by one of the camp guards. However, in order to save her baby, she was manipulated into a situation where she had to betray her lover. The main attraction of this film is the clear depiction it gives of the harsh conditions of life in these infamous camps.