The book is a documentary story about the unusual fate of one of the most prominent statesmen and reformers of Russia, Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (1772–1839). He, the son of a simple rural priest, was destined to find himself in the thick of the political life of the country in the first third of the 19th century, to experience unprecedented ups and downs. Speransky's personality is depicted against the backdrop of the events of the era, in relationships with Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, prominent dignitaries, writers, and Decembrists.