The whole city is rushing to the circus to see the deadly act of the famous masked artist, the mysterious Mr. X. Among the guests is a rich widow, Countess Palinskaya, for whom any man is ready to perform a feat. But only the mysterious X is able to ignite the flame of love in the heart of the inflexible Countess...

The story about a very small god-forgotten village in Siberia reflects the history of Russia from the beginning of the century till the early 1980s. Three generations try to find the land of happiness and to give it to the people. One builds the road through taiga to the star over horizon, the second 'build communism' and the third searches for oil.