Russia. 1910. The once famous magician Arseny Vilsky has lost his popularity and drags out a miserable existence as a traveling circus performer. Gathering his remaining strength, he prepares to perform, to fulfill his last illusion.
The film begins in the "monkey" district police Department of Moscow, where the detainee is delivered type of 60 years in a Bathrobe and Slippers. This homeless-looking character claims that he is Maxim Averin, who starred in the series "Glukhar" in the role of Sergei Glukharev. Who is this old man, and will the police find the real Maxim Averin? How and why are Denis Rozhkov, aka Antoshin, and Alexander Bobrov, aka Agapov, on the stage?