Vadim Demidov is a “man transported with a rapier” who did everything possible for the Russian army to defeat the hordes of the French emperor. To do this, Vadim—an athlete fencer and a talented chemist—had to introduce into the military affairs of the previous century various innovations, from field kitchens to dynamite. But the enemy isn’t broken yet, and it’s too early to lay down arms. The world he longs for and a marriage with the lovely Nastenka Sokova remain only in dreams. After all, the path to them goes through a decisive clash with the last stronghold of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army.