A comedy set in St Petersburg of the 1920s, following a boarding school named after Dostoevsky that caters to homeless children. The unruly children are exceptionally smart, and exceptionally naughty. The film humorously follows the faculty’s attempts to earn the respect of the most mischievous and troublesome. Vikniksor, the school director, a highly intellectual man, learns to understand and inspire the boys. The film is much loved in Russia. Highly personal, it was adapted from a book by two orphans.