Russian Empire. The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Thirteen-year-old nobleman and orphan Vanya Ogarev flees Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, escaping assassins sent by his own uncle, who has decided to seize the boy's inheritance. For his protection, Vanya hires a fist fighter named Volchok, who he happens to meet. Volchok must help Vanya reach Nizhny Novgorod safe and sound, where his father's loyal friend awaits him. But the whole event is falling apart from the very beginning: the dreamer, aristocrat, and aesthete Vanya and the uncouth, sullen man Volchok barely tolerate each other from the very beginning. A dangerous journey awaits them, one that will change them both forever.