The events of the story take place during the Great War in a world similar to ours during the First World War. The scene of action is the Belovodsk Empire, a huge state in the east of the continent, inhabited by people, converts, gryazush and inhabitants of the steppes (malmals or steppe dwellers). The upper stratum of society consists mainly of people, several noble families of converts. The Gryazush are ruthlessly exploited due to the latter’s inability to seriously resist; uprisings of the steppe inhabitants are periodically suppressed. However, the Empire turns out to be unable to endure the hardships of war - first there is a revolution, and then a civil war begins. The story of this difficult period is told in connection with the adventures of a graduate of the elite guards school, Kirill Obolensky.