The novel continues the fascinating storyline begun by the author in the novel “The Shadow of a Bitter Star” (Tyumen, 1996), but is a completely independent work. The action of the novel takes place on the territory of the West Siberian region during the period of the so-called “Brezhnev stagnation”, rich in both positive and negative events and processes in the society of “developed socialism”. The author shows the other side of the front façade of the system using the example of the destinies of his heroes. The novel is written in a fascinating form, rich in humor, unexpected plot twists and will be of interest to a wide range of readers. Almost everything described in the novel once happened in reality, the characters of the characters are collective. Therefore, their recognition may be random.