Irena is a chemist, trying to develop a new formula for preserving ink on old documents for her doctorate. Her passion for preserving old documents comes as a result of her wish to protect the love letters her grandmother wrote to her husband when she was working as an * "Aleksandrinka " . In these letters Irena searches for answers regarding her own life. She is trying to patch up her marriage that has reached a point of fatal alienation. Her mother, whose own mother left her behind when she went to work in Egypt, insists that Irena's scientific career and the consequent »neglect of the family" are the main reasons that her marriage doesn't work. Irena on the other hand, believes that in this day and age, it is possible to have a family, as well as a successful career. But have times truly changed?