Kharkiv of 1930, as befits a young republican capital, is full of passions, guests and contradictions. Ingenious plays are read in the cold depths of theatrical dormitories, famous poets in communal kitchens fight with mice trying to gnaw manuscripts, but the city does not notice the inconvenience. In the Ukrainian drama, the Berezils are brilliantly "kurbalesyat", and the state opera gives a grand premiere of the country's first "real Soviet ballet". Alas, the premiere is overshadowed by the murder. People who are completely unfit to investigate crimes have to understand what is happening: an imposing theater critic, a ballerina disconnected from reality, a student expelled from rabbinical faculty and a meticulous young library employee accidentally turn into an investigative group. Even the smallest mistake can cost any of them their lives, and there is almost no chance to find out the truth ...