A mining town in Russia at the end of the nineties. A miners' strike has paralysed the place, corruption and fraud are flourishing in the transitional period from a socialist economy to a market economy. In this world of lost souls lives Yekaterina Artemovna (Katya). This unconspicuous woman has, in the words of her future lover, a "heart of gold". The only bright spots in her lonely life in a meagre communal apartment are literature and her work in the town library. The only bright ray flashed in the life of the heroine is a visiting sailor. But he turns out to be a gigolo and leaves the poor woman. The tense string inside the heroine bursts, the iron nerves lose, and restrained Yekaterina at this point loses all patience with life and ready for the most desperate and cruel revenge...

Sasha, a singer at a musical theatre, persuades his friend Kulik to take him to a remote sacred place for fishing. Soon they find out that wood spirits live here. Kulik warns Sasha to ask them of nothing and not to fool the evil spirit, but he breaks the taboo — and now the spirits demand blood payment. Kulik faces a difficult choice: to leave Sasha in the forest and escape, or pull him out and pay with his life.

Victoria, a former operative, is getting used to a normal life with her beloved husband, a psychologist. But after being attacked by a criminal in the service, she cannot have children. The couple decide to take six-year-old Dasha, whose parents died in a fire, to their place for the weekend. And then strange events begin to happen in their country house. The girl behaves secretly and sometimes aggressively, draws scary pictures and spoils toys. In her drawings, Vika guesses the victims of that same criminal, now she is absolutely sure: the villain is alive, and he is somewhere nearby.

Lyudmila is a successful realtor in the capital. Pictures from the past pop up in her memory, and the viewer learns at what cost a single mother from the province managed to cherish Moscow's well-being. Lyudmila's story is typical, it reflects, like in a mirror, the pain points of modern life, forcing us to make our hourly choices. Is it worth a deal with the conscience of material comfort? Is it possible to achieve success in a megalopolis today and remain an honest person? Won't a "bright future" built on betrayal of one's own ideals lead to the decline of genuine human values?

New film by Sasha Potapova