The captain of a Russian merchant temporarily immobilized in Hamburg harbor begins to write a book in which nothing is invention, and most assumptions are all true. Based on fragments of his own life, Captain rememorará the fate of three generations of men of his city, from before the First World War to the present day.
V.V. is a geography teacher revered by all his former students, though no one knows exactly what his teaching method, and promoter of the Museum of Nature in the Region, the pride of the city. His son Serafim, exceptional intelligence, seems destined to become a leading figure in the study of heavenly bodies, but a heartache that leads to suicide will prevent it. An article written in memory of his father still cause more problems. His son Iona, the narrator classmate and rival for the love of the Navy, will launch the emerging and challenging business world in Russia.
In the lives of these three men reflect changes in values ​​and priorities in a city and at a time which, although located in Russia, can be extrapolated to other countries.
With a prose sometimes bitter but highly lyrical, almost unintentionally Dmitriev offers a history lesson that is read with a heavy heart.
Considered by the outstanding Russian writer review back to the era of Leonid Brezhnev stagnation, without much optimism Dmitriev notes the "new Russia" being built.