Marfa (Dina Korzun), the daughter of an icon painter in a remote Russian village, sees a televised interview with a famous Canadian artist (Martin Shakett). She decides she must meet him, and walks to Moscow to find him. When they meet, she realizes that, unlike her father, he has a playful attitude towards his work, and feels that art is more than a small painting -- in fact, greater than life itself. When she falls in love with him, though, he becomes frightened.