War takes us by surprise. It forces us to flee, upend our lives, and ask ourselves the questions, 'Who am I?' and 'Where is my homeland?' The heroes of Nikolai V. Kononov's novel cannot answer these questions definitively—they are displaced persons, stateless people, emigrants, and double agents who operated between the First and Second World Wars. The stories of an anarchist who deceived Hitler's intelligence, a young teacher searching for God and herself during the occupation, and a scientist burdened by evil who fled the Bolsheviks abroad are told by their descendants, who today find themselves in a similar situation. Kononov offers an opportunity to look at the madness of the last century through the eyes of those who, against all odds, tried to survive, preserve their humanity, and defend their ideas.

Author: Nikolai Kononov