What kind of people are gypsies? How did it happen that, having settled all over the world, they did not become their own anywhere, but remained in a special position everywhere? How has their life changed in modern Russia, and how do the new Gypsies differ from the new Russians? What is gypsy law, gypsy truth, gypsy morality? Where does the belief come from that Jesus Christ allowed the gypsies to steal and deceive people? In this cheerful and lyrical book, the most incredible adventures and destinies are described with ethnographic accuracy. With love, bitterness and merciless honesty, the author depicts scenes from the life of gypsies he knows well, mainly Kotlyars.