The book is an artistic and documentary reconstruction of the political and diplomatic struggle that preceded the outbreak of the Second World War and its beginning. Based on extensive documentary material - correspondence, surviving transcripts, combat reports, as well as memoirs of participants in the events - the author recreates a picture of what was happening in the offices of Hitler, Stalin, Chamberlain, Polish, Czechoslovak and other governments. The main attention is paid to such key historical events as the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland Crisis, the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the outbreak of World War II, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the partition of Poland, the “Phantom War” in France, the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (the first border battles). The author reconstructs the way of thinking of the rulers of Europe and explains the mechanisms for making certain strategic decisions.