N. Ilyina’s book includes memories of the difficult destinies of the Russian people, whom the revolutionary wave forced out to Shanghai. Their life is known quite little to the Soviet reader, and yet it is interesting and instructive: the need to survive in a foreign land revealed characters, mobilized human strength and capabilities. The book also includes stories about our famous contemporaries - Anna Akhmatova, Alexander Vertinsky and others. Natalya Ilyina - a person with a sharp mind and his own outlook on life. She knows how to observe and draw conclusions from what she sees.