The new book by the famous scientist and writer Yuri Okunev is dedicated to the difficult and contradictory fate of talented scientists, creators of new technology in a totalitarian country. This is a St. Petersburg novel with a Leningrad filling, this is a journey from St. Petersburg to Leningrad during the times of “developed socialism.” The heroes of the novel work at the global level and are ready to take their country to a leading position in key areas of science and technology, but this is hampered by the petrified order of the regime, which has entered a period of stagnation. The creative impulse, the energy of “storm and stress” fade in the quagmire of inertia, destroying everything new, living and non-standard. The main characters of the novel never manage to break through the barriers of the party-state dictatorship - their developments are not in demand in their homeland, and their creative plans are not realized. The personal destinies of the novel's heroes are fractured by the time in which they have to live. They think about it, about the history and future of their country.