Two cities and fragments of one and the same story, told from different standpoints in time. Alexei, a Russian journalist is in Rotterdam, whereas his 14-year-old son, Pavel, is in St. Petersburg.

     Alexei awakens in a shabby hotel and still has his overcoat on. He answers a telephone call from Russia: his son awaits him. From the window of his room, he can see a gray Mercedes parked in front of the hotel and has a strong suspicion this is no coincidence: he is investigating Russian transport on the docks of Rotterdam and white slave traffic. He helps a prostitute from his country to obtain a false passport and plunges into the world of the Mafia. Far away in St Petersburg, Pavel is worried about his father.

     The events in both cities are almost parallel, until a time variation begins to occur. To Pavel, at the growing stage, all moves rapidly ahead, whereas Alexei feels he is more and more under threat, time seems to have stopped still: he stays on paralyzed in his hotel bed. In St. Petersburg, the snow begins to fall.