The location is Russia. The time of action is our days (the zero years of the current century). The main character of the novel is Alexey Alekseevich Sidorov, a former successful businessman who suddenly lost everything: his beloved woman, house, money, his position and becomes homeless. Sidorov is smart and enterprising; some of his initiatives help improve the life of the free brotherhood. For these services, the homeless people who settled in the ruins of the Iskra plant proclaim him their leader. The news that Alexei's ex-wife Katerina was killed by militants of the crime boss Parkhom pushes Sidorov to take the path of revenge.