It would seem that nothing is keeping the main character in Ivanovsk, especially since her sister Tamarka has settled well in Chicago and has been calling her for a long time. But she doesn’t go to America and doesn’t even want to.
A band of young musicians is looking for fees across the steppe in an ramshackle old bus. During their tour, starving, they kill a cow but they don't know what to do with it. They will also bring happiness in an old people's home in return for food.
A group of creative youth is trying to preserve an island of security, peace, and their own special style of life and relationships in a reserved apartment. But this freedom costs them dearly.