The book consists of four stories that touch on serious moral problems facing society and school: is it possible to kill the weak and kill in general, is it possible to persecute for nationality, for adherence to religion. The hypocrisy and window dressing that reigns in the “adult world” is also reflected in the school; high school students - the heroes of the stories - are desperately looking for a way out of the dead ends into which society has reached on the eve of Perestroika. At the end of the book, a generalized image of the “School of Athens” appears, equipping people for the voyage of life. The book is addressed to a wide range of readers.