The ironic story of how a trickster named Edik arrives in a small Crimean town, looking for fictional relatives to match up with a group of Jewish emigres who are seeking their ancestors. His main problem is that their birthplace was destroyed in World War II, so the relatives are, indeed, fictional. Logistical details, like adjusting a letter in the present-day name of the town, can all be managed with help from the easily corrupted local authorities. What can't be managed, however, are the relations that develop between the returnees and their supposed relatives, which take various, distinctly unexpected turns.