About the book: 2019 / More than a year has passed since the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire, but at the Irkutsk convict factory everything is still the same. The harsh, inhumane management of the new authorities makes the situation of the convicts unbearable. A riot is brewing at the factory. Factory paramedic Ustinya worries day and night both about her husband, the hot-tempered, unrestrained Efim, and about Doctor Iverznev, an exiled medical student. Ustinya knows that Iverznev loves her, and tries with all her might to protect him from harm. Meanwhile, the boss’s attention is attracted by the beautiful convict Vasilisa, exiled for murder and robbery. The formidable owner of the factory loses his head, not knowing that Vasilisa is mad... Who can save the powerless convict from the lordly love and lordly anger? There is nowhere to wait for salvation, and Vasilisa decides to take a desperate, irreparable step…