The action takes place in the present day in a coastal town in a Balkan country. Journalist Sergei Sotnikov arrives on assignment to interview a Russian geophysicist who has just received an international award. Suddenly Sergei witnesses the geophysicist's assassination. He manages to avoid being assassinated as an inconvenient witness and being arrested by the local police as the prime suspect. In desperation, Sergei addresses the first person he meets: a young chambermaid at his hotel. This encounter will change his life...
