Lev Preobrazhensky is one of Moscow’s leading specialists in maxillofacial surgery. He is capable of restoring patients’ former faces after accidents and mishaps. But what about creating new faces? The party’s policy on this matter has yet to be defined, but by the mid-1960s, the potential benefits of plastic surgery are already clear. The enterprising Dr. Preobrazhensky wants to develop this cutting-edge branch of medicine. Working under the supervision of the security services, he begins his work in the Experimental Department alongside his young colleague and antagonist, Igor Zorin, who dreams of moving abroad. The first plastic surgeons meet their first patients, from Soviet stars to the party elite, and face serious challenges. What sacrifices will beauty demand this time?
