In which the vast and tempestuous expanse of Lake Baikal and the Angara River provide the setting for a perilous journey undertaken by a brave courier carrying a fragile companion towards the besieged city of Irkutsk, amidst the cruel onset of Siberian winter. Aboard a simple raft crowded with fugitive pilgrims and villagers, the disguised courier’s indomitable spirit and the unyielding devotion of his young sister illuminate their passage through icy waters and shadowed hope.