The novel takes place on December 20–25, 1968. Its hero, sixteen-year-old Viktor Azovsky, lives on the southern coast of Crimea in the small town of Arkadyevsk. He is concerned about questions about the meaning of life, about hatred, about love, about suicide. Torn by painful contradictions, he goes to Yalta to a concert of visiting American jazz players, after which he decides to commit suicide. However, life turns out to be stronger than death.