Invisible to everyone around him, a contemporary filmmaker magically finds himself in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg - back in the early 1700s. He meets a cynical French diplomat from the 19th Century and the men become accomplices in an extraordinary time-traveling journey through Russia’s turbulent past. Wandering through the Palace, the Marquis and the filmmaker witness astonishing scenes from the Tsarist Empire - Peter the Great thrashes his general with a whip and, during rehearsals of her own play, Catherine the Great rushes around looking for a bathroom. The family of the last Tsar dine together, quite oblivious to the impending revolution, and hundreds of dancers waltz at the last Great Royal Ball of 1913 - the end of an era is nigh. As their time-voyage unfolds in a single, uncut steadicam shot, the two men engage in a passionate and amusing dispute. The Marquis clearly has a Western love-hate relationship with Russia, whereas the modern filmmaker questions his country’s uneasy connection to its past and to Europe today.