A small steppe town in the Volga region. Old wooden houses in the center, rotting Khrushchev on the outskirts. Provincial boredom and hopelessness are opposed by two people, an Orthodox priest and a choir director, she is also a Sunday school teacher. The situation might seem normal, if not for one circumstance. The priest is a Frenchman, a former Catholic monk who converted to Orthodoxy. The regent is an Englishwoman, a philologist, and a former Protestant. They are in love with Russia and believe that it is here that they have found their place on Earth.