A hospital in a shabby provincial town in Tsar Russia swarming with spies, traitors and secret police. Doctor Ragin worries about his patient Gronow in Ward Six. Gronow is a former civil servant who talks about the future.
The miller lies to the king that his beautiful daughter can spin gold from straw. The king, eternally in debt, marries the miller's daughter and locks her in a chamber to spin gold. Of course, she does not succeed. One night, a little man appears and offers his services to the young queen. He is...