A satirical comedy about the monotonous, boring and largely meaningless life of small officials in a certain provincial town.

After ten years of war, plague and famine, the land is swept clean of people. The few remaining souls are scattered about, living in misery and lacking hope. An anxious silence hangs over the land. On one particularly starry night, two peasants find a stranger on the seashore.

Ivan, a cynical journalist, is assigned to investigate mysterious events in a small town. During his first night, he is seduced by a strange and mysterious girl. As they embrace, she transforms into a hideous demon. Ivan fights the creature, managing to strangle it. But it is too late, Evil has been unleashed. When Ivan is charged for the brutal murder, he feels his last hope disappear. As he is overcome by the dark forces trying to pose as his soul, Ivan comes to realize that his only hope lies in his power to find the faith that he once lost