When Ivan, a Russian writer, goes abroad implausible adventures change his life. Although he sets out for Birmingham, England, Ivan winds up in Birmingham, Alabama. The hilarious encounters of a Russian in the South begin: Southern Gothic meets Russian Madness. Unaware of the error, Ivan intrudes on an Alabama family that mistakes him for its own estranged, mentally-ill relative. From there, Ivan finds himself on the street, his suitcase and wallet stolen. Unsure where to go, Ivan searches for the famous British writer, Jeremy White, finding instead, Jeremy White, an unemployed and illiterate older black man, who is a former latrine digger... Before Ivan discovers that he is in Alabama, he is jailed, appears on the FBI's Most Wanted list, and nearly suffocates in a landfill. How does Anna, an attractive and successful television reporter, help him clear his name and collect a million dollars?