In 1860s St. Petersburg, a young Armenian student, Harutyun Altmazov, tries to find his place in an unfamiliar environment. His knowledge and natural gifts could help him obtain an education and build an independent life, but his belief in his own exceptional nature, his ambition, and his pursuit of wealth influence his choices. Around him, personal feelings, notions of social standing, and questions of national identity come into conflict. The story portrays a man whose inner world is shaped by the conflict between his own aspirations and the prejudices of those around him.

In nineteenth-century New Nakhichevan, the elderly Mkyr Agha’s conversation about the family of his neighbor Moltan Ghazaros offers a glimpse into the city’s everyday life and the relationships among its people. His recollections weave together nostalgia for old customs, the disappearance of courtyards and gardens, the weakening of neighborly ties, and Katar’s fate. The story portrays a community where kindness and care clash with envy, gossip, and the alienation brought by changing times.

The intertwined destinies of Vardan, Sofia, and Katya unfold in the nineteenth-century Caucasus, against the backdrop of towns renowned for their mineral waters and other parts of the Russian Empire. Themes of love, social inequality, and human choice intertwine with reflections on the plight of Armenians and their attachment to their homeland. At the heart of the work lies the experience of women—their vulnerability, dignity, kindness, and compassion.

In mid-nineteenth-century St. Petersburg, amid a harsh winter and an epidemic, a young Armenian student, Mikayel, happens to meet Mari, a girl who has lost her mother and been left alone. Love blossoms between them, but a promise Mari made in the past and her engagement complicate their relationship. Against the city’s cold and indifferent atmosphere, the power of first love, the sense of duty, and the price of a decision are revealed.