In November 1920, as the Russian Civil War winds down in the south, the Red Army pushes into Crimea, triggering a wide-spread panic among those who thrived before the 1917 Revolution. This upheaval sweeps away members of the former elite, forcing them to abandon their homeland in a desperate exodus. Across this chaotic backdrop, the fates of several intertwined lives unfold: Serafima Korzukhina, Ludmila Savelyeva, the wife of a once-powerful trade minister; General Charnota, Mikhail Ulyanov, a White Army commander who clings to his dwindling authority; his companion Lyuska, Tatyana Tkach; the thoughtful Golubkov, Aleksey Batalov; and the troubled General Khludov, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky, who is haunted by visions of the men he ordered executed. Nearby is Korzukhin, Evgeniy Evstigneev, the private-lecturer turned husband whose fate will become crucial to Serafima’s future, and the shadow of the deserter-turned-ghostly memory, Krapilin, the soldier whose presence lingers in Khludov’s conscience; the moment is rendered with the presence of Nikolai Olyalin as the man who once played Krapilin.
The group narrowly escapes to Constantinople by train and ship, only to discover exile brings poverty and a sharp drop from their former social standing. In the unfamiliar streets of the Balkan capital, General Charnota’s pride buckles under hardship, while Ludmila Savelyeva as Serafima faces an unbearable choice to survive, a choice that tests loyalty and love.
To secure Serafima’s future, Golubkov and Charnota embark on a perilous journey to Paris to find Korzukhin, who still holds the means to salvage her life. The encounter is tense: Korzukhin refuses help, and in a bold turn, Charnota challenges him to a card game, emerging with a substantial win. With Lyuska’s help, who has become entangled with Korzukhin, Golubkov and Charnota escape Paris with the winnings, leaving behind a city of echoes and unresolved loyalties.
Back in Constantinople, Golubkov and Serafima decide to attempt a return to Soviet Russia, driven by a longing for belonging and redemption that outstrips the dangers they face on the road home. For the White generals, exile is their only option, a fate they brace for with a mix of stoic resignation and stubborn humor. Charnota, ever the gambler, resurrects a nomad’s persona—calling himself the “Flying Dutchman” or “Ahasuerus”—a self-image that fuses defiance with a doomed wanderer’s fate. Khludov, meanwhile, sinks deeper into guilt and memories from the war, his sense of reality fraying as the years unfold.
The film closes on a dreamlike note, where Golubkov and Serafima ride through a snowbound Russian forest, a symbolic return toward a homeland that remains just beyond reach, shimmering with memory, longing, and the fragile possibility of salvation.
