Yuriy Vasilev

A group of Swedish tourists are on the way to a Russian village to witness the so called 'Festivity of Neptunus', in which the inhabitants take a dive in a hole in the ice. This tradition, however, does not exist at all. The inhabitants try to make a good impression by starting the 'tradition' to please the tourists.

Arkady Dolgoruky is the illegitimate son of a nobleman. Throughout his childhood he was brought up by strangers, his peers often teased him, and he grew up impressionable and vulnerable. As a young man of twenty, Arkady moves to St. Petersburg and joins the old prince as his secretary.