The main characters are both living and dead: in dreams they come to each other, the lives of some are dreamed of by others. There are many bitter reflections on the country's past. “...Faith, language and flags changed in Ukrainian families almost every generation, not even as costumes, but as disposable syringes, injected into a bucket...” But Zabuzhko still raises one topic from the past to some historical pedestal. This is the theme of post-war resistance to Soviet power, the theme of the UPA.