The film tells the legendary story of the attempt to erect a "calliope" on a water reservoir near the Kolomenskoye Kremlin and the musical event that followed. In this story, real events are intertwined with situations imagined by the author, full of absurd details. In all this, the viewer learns a multitude of authentic facts both about the city of Kolomna itself and about the American composer Charles Ives and Thomas Edisson, a pioneer of sound recording.
