The meaning of life... How to find it? The main character of the novel, a graduate student in the Faculty of Philosophy Kay, is writing a dissertation on meaning. One day she finds herself at a conference in California, where she meets Mark, a businessman from Russia who has lost interest in life. Love ignites between them, only the girl’s further fate turns into a series of constant meetings and separations. The last time the couple sees each other is in Paris, and this is where the story begins... Walking through Montmartre, Kay meets an artist who is painting her portrait. First, the picture causes a quarrel between lovers, and then Mark mysteriously disappears... Editor's comment: What can love lead to? To the touch, to white heat, and sometimes to forbidden secrets that it would be better to never touch.