The dramatic events in Alexander Donskikh’s new novel “The Cornerstone” unfold against the backdrop of great achievements in the recent history of Russia. A team of “chemists”-burners destroy, strictly adhering to a strict plan and schedule, one of the villages, in the place of which a hydroelectric reservoir is supposed to appear. But suddenly the plan and schedule are destroyed, and people, former residents of the village, as well as fire-fighters and one high official, begin to do something unusual and somewhat incredible. Throughout the entire novel there is an alarming thought that “it is, of course, possible to build a house or a hut without a cornerstone, but how long will it take for the job to be done...”