A story about the life of a man whose fate was broken by a personal catastrophe that came at the time of restructuring of society. The action of the novel begins in the relatively cloudless Soviet year of 1984 and ends on New Year's Eve 2000, when the aged hero is preparing to move on to the next century. Older people will be able to remember what they have experienced, while today’s young people will be able to try to understand the psychology of their parents. The narrative shows the transformation of the image of the main character, whose life catastrophe forces him to grow up faster than his peers and look at life differently. This novel is a requiem for a generation thrown into conditions of bestial survival.