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Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by the great writer Leo Tolstoy, this engrossing drama is set at the turn of the 20th century and involves a momentous decision on the part of a young nobleman to take a hike from his present existence. He cannot bear to continue in the kind of meaningless life he has supposedly enjoyed, and so he travels to the Caucasus and settles into a Cossack community. Once there, he learns to appreciate real human qualities and values, falls in love, and makes genuine friends. Thus transformed, he has to decide whether to stay or to return to his responsibilities in the life he left behind.