The action of the novel dates back to the first half of the twentieth century and covers the events that took place on the eve of the Second World War, as well as war and post-war times. Its main characters are intellectuals and workers, aristocrats, military men and politicians of Russia, Germany, England and the USA, whose destinies are intertwined in an intricate and unpredictable pattern. Before their eyes, the world is collapsing, Hitler comes to power in Europe, plunging the continents into war, and their lives contain epoch-making events, innumerable troubles, and quiet joys...