The first letter of ensign Nikolai Fedorovich Lugin (F. Stepun) is dated September 1914, the last - March 1917. It ends with a message about unrest in Petrograd. Before the events of the 17th year, the barrier seems to be lowered. Between cruel nonsense and bloody madness lies a gap that cannot be overlooked. Stepun's book is devoted entirely and exclusively to world war as an entity and a phenomenon of its own significance.