This is a collection of portraits: 23 short stories about the Mari women, a sort of Decameron suspended between magic and realism, in which the Autonomous Republic of the Marij El serves as a backdrop for the collective history of a people of ancient tradition. A journey into a mysterious and unknown part of the world.

As punishment for fighting with a superior officer, Grigory Vlasov is exiled to a small unit located in the Urals, where almost everything is led by women. However, the heart of the exiled major has not yet recovered after the last romance, so he ignores flirting of local ensigns until the beautiful Natalya, the leader of the local women, warms his frozen heart. But office romances are not welcome in the army ...