Ivan Khristoforov discovers the strange property of foreseeing explosions. Trying to understand the reason and meaning of this unusual ability, he turns to family history. The attention of the secret public service doesn't bode well for Khristoforov. The imaginary journey of the hero in his past, bearing the imprint of a children's worldview, and the present, at times just like a dream.

After Mick Nich, a 1930's Chicago gangster, sells out his own gang to the police, the Mafia hires the best hitman in town, Johnny Pollack, to follow him to Odessa, USSR. Upon arrival, Pollack loses his memory and goes on various adventures with a group of thick-headed Odessa locals who think he is a harmless butterfly collector.