The book is dedicated to the personal and creative fate of the outstanding writer Ivan Sergeyevich Shmelev, the author of such famous works as "The Sun of the Dead," "Pilgrimage," "Summer of the Lord." Among the heroes of the biography are I. Bunin, I. Ilyin, A. Denikin, K. Balmont, A. Kartashev, A. Kuprin, B. Zaitsev, D. Merezhkovsky, 3. Gippius, G. Adamovich, G Ivanov, S. Makovsky and many other prominent representatives of the Russian emigration - those with whom Shmelev was irreconcilable, and those with whom he was spiritually close.