This novel can’t really be called an epic because the action lasts only half a year. But the author concentrated his 20 years of teaching experience in a university. The main character—candidate of physical and mathematical sciences Dmitry Vikentyevich Panin—is meticulous, but absolutely believable, with all the conflicts and twists of life, because he reflects many real problems. The span of his fate describes a turning period, sparked by a random episode.