The last part of Gogol's life is spent in Nikitsky Avenue in the house of the Tolstois, where the writer continues his work on the second volume of "Dead Souls". The Tolsois are worried because Gogol is not seeing anyone, eats very little. They summon doctor Tarasenkov who defines Gogol's state with the words "spiritually suffering", thus rejecting the diagnosis of "mentally unwell". The writer recalls the most important events of his life...
The title of the movie is an allusion to the famous picture "Appearance of Christ to People", where the artist Alexander Ivanov painted the writer closest to Christ.