The drama of a former noblewoman who became the wife of an NKVD officer in the 1930s, and the almost anecdotal story of how a spirited stallion was prepared for Marshal Budyonny’s parade and, in the end, a reliable mare was “slipped in” instead. The realities of life at the top of the State Security Service are shown, their ordinary and “sweet” life with its joys, intrigues, betrayals, and tragedies. Russia is like a whirlpool that sucks in and destroys.