In the spring of 1945, as World War II is winding down, nineteen-year-old Boris Koptek leaves the remote village of Mirnoe to join the Russian army as it closes in on the beleaguered German capital. He leaves behind the sixteen-year-old love of his life, Vera, vowing to her that as soon as he returns, they will marry. Young Boris and his engineering battalion fight their way to the very outskirts of Berlin, where literally days before war's end, he is reported killed in action crossing the Spree River. Vera steadfastly refuses to believe he is dead, and month after month, year after years, faithfully awaits his return. At first the village applauds her exemplary love, but as time goes on, they question her misplaced fidelity, and even her sanity.Now, thirty years later, a twenty-six-year-old researcher arrives in Mirnoe from Leningrad to document the customs and legends of the village. But more and more of his notebook fills with observations, reflections, and theories about Vera, with whom, despite the difference in their ages, he soon falls hopelessly in love. The simple problem, however, is: How can he compete with a ghost that refuses to die? Read Less