The events take place in pre-war Moscow. The novel tells of the arrival on Earth of an angel who introduces himself as Dymkov. The purpose of his visit to Earth is unknown. He makes contact only with the girl-medium Dunya Loskutova. Dymkov begins performing in the circus with tricks in the troupe of the artist Dyurso, whose daughter, the film actress Yulia, tries to seduce the angel with matters beneficial to her personally. Stalin also meets with Dymkov, but the angel refuses to cooperate. In separate chapters, Dymkov and Dunya travel through parallel worlds and planets, observing primarily the decay and destruction of civilizations. Another plotline of the novel is the story of Vadim Loskutov, the son of a priest, a convinced communist, who is writing a novel about ancient Egypt and the construction of a huge pyramid for the pharaoh. The novel is complex, polyphonic, overloaded with philosophical digressions to the limit, but it is absolutely interesting for a careful, engaged, and patient reader.