In 1921, Russian poet Anna Barkova publishes her first collection of poems and is on the brink of becoming one of the greatest Russian poets. However, a few years later she finds herself in the Gulags, where she ends up spending 22 years of her life. She survives thanks to her poetry, hope for better days, and passionate love for a woman named Valentina.

The film is divided into eight chapters, each having a different visual style inspired by Soviet avant-garde and propaganda posters, Russian Art Nouveau, folklore, and the Soviet montage of the silent film era.