In the life of every general, there is a secret. When he goes to the next world, he leaves its solution for a future historian. Then the time comes, and the historian takes up the case. He studies archives and gathers oral testimonies. He looks for the general’s descendants, hunts for his papers, and even meets other historians. Absorbed by his search, the historian does not notice how the field of study gradually turns into a minefield. It becomes clear that the historian’s life (which makes it similar to the general’s life) is full of dangers and anxieties. Because in any investigation he studies the least-known thing: himself.
The novel presents scholarly life in many different—and sometimes very unexpected—ways.