Three time periods and storylines make up the novel: The first, Jacob, the son of a Rügen fisherman. After leaving home, he meets the Russian Tsar Peter I in Amsterdam. The second, Jacob’s relative of the same name, appears at the moment of flight from Russia to its former principality, which becomes independent Finland. His grandson, together with his mother, having lost his grandmother and grandfather during the evacuation during the bombing of the Elisenvaara railway station by Soviet aviation, finds himself in the territories occupied by the USSR. The third line connecting the past with the present is formed by Pavel together with his mother, wife and daughter. The action takes place in the Baltic. The island of Rügen, being a certain deviation from the main coordinates, is the starting point of the thread connecting all events. The Kurstein clan, having permeated the history of the formation of Petrine Russia, at the beginning of the 19th century united with one of the Rurik tribes. The Russo-Swedish War of 1700–1721 is shown with key battles. Gangut Viipuri, Kyakisalmi, Priozersk, Valaam Island.