1983. The era of the Great Stagnation is coming to an end in the USSR. String bags, cut glasses, the fight for peace... Former US Army translator Alex Williams comes to the Soviet Union to write a dissertation on philology. His life is fun: he goes to the potato harvest, goes to demonstrations and flirts with his Russian friend Marika. Russia never ceases to amaze him. Here everything is done on a grand scale: if it’s a scam, then it’s the most ingenious one, if it’s a war, then it’s to the point of complete destruction of the enemy, if it’s love, then it’s to the point of self-forgetfulness...