In 1957 Pierre Duran, a graduate of the École Normale, comes to Moscow on a university exchange. Here he meets Kira Galkina, ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre, and the photographer Valeri Uspensky. Thanks to these acquaintances, Pierre plunges into the cultural life of Moscow, not only official but also underground culture. He starts an affair with Kira. But his studies and his ......