N.N. Shpanov’s novel “Arsonists” is dedicated to exposing the instigators of aggression and aggressors. This is one of the first works of its kind. The writer created it in the context of the war and the first post-war years. He tried to carefully trace the interweaving of internal and external interests and contradictions that determine the balance of power in the modern world of imperialism: the heroes of the novel are people belonging to different classes, different camps. Two worlds collide sharply in this book, they are fighting for life and death.