Late 17th—early 18th centuries. Peter’s Russia. The main characters of the novel are two brothers, Ilya and Egor Markovy, sons of a poor стрелец widow. Separated in childhood, each of them follows their own path in life. The younger one, having survived many hardships and misfortunes, ends up in a “navigation school,” becomes a court lathe operator, and achieves considerable success. The elder one—starting out as a participant in the strelets uprising—begins in prison and ends up a soldier on the battlefields of the Russo-Swedish War.