This is the story of a destructive love between a St. Petersburg intellectual and a young provincial girl. The main character, Sveta, works in a children's ice rink. The Snow Maiden costume is her work outfit. The main character is university professor Nechaev, an architectural historian, who heads a commission of the city hall that must solve the problems of the historical center of St. Petersburg. Under the influence of his love for this twenty-year-old provincial girl, Sveta, Professor Nechaev, who had an impeccable reputation as an incorruptible intellectual, gives up his career and declines as a person.
