dear friend Kat is also falling apart from having to deal with eventually three sets of twins and a husband who loves her but who just won't take her complaints seriously. Both of them are very frustrated they have no outs and are forced to live in poverty and a tenement. A window of hope opens when Aleksey and Nikolas finally earn enough money to purchase land and houses in Minnesota. Ivan's dream since boyhood was to be a farmer in the American Midwest, but at the moment, he's not earning enough money to join their best friends. Finally, when Lyuba hits rock bottom, Ivan is woken up to how seriously their marriage is in trouble, and agrees to a temporary separation. Lyuba is enjoying her time as an independent, working woman, and absence is making her heart grow fonder. But then, shortly before she's due to join Ivan in Minnesota, something unexpected happens and Boris, who has long been waiting for his former best friends' marriage to crumble, takes advantage of the situation. By the time Lyuba recovers her senses, she knows it's going to be difficult for Ivan to forgive her for her twelfth betrayal.