Vasily Nikolayevich Ilyin, a pensioner from the village of Ryshkovo, travels to New York to be photographed for the cover of a special issue of Esquire, dedicated to the rules of life for ordinary people, with the famous photographer Martin Scholler. Vasily Nikolayevich had never been abroad before and had never seen the sea in his life. During the journey, he manages to fulfill an old dream.