In which two young men of contrasting demeanours meet by chance on a mist-shrouded train bound for St. Petersburg, their disparate pasts gradually unfolding through a candid and occasionally mocking exchange with a knowing fellow traveller. The journey sets the stage for a curious intertwining of fortunes, marked by uneasy confidences and the faint stirrings of acquaintance amid the dreariness of a damp November morning.