During the Great Patriotic War, the author of the book was the chief of intelligence of the 39th Army. In his memoirs, he talks about the organization of military intelligence in battles near Rzhev, Vyazma, Dukhovshchina, Smolensk and Vitebsk, on Lithuanian soil and in East Prussia, when overcoming Bolshoi Khingan. Many pages of memoirs are devoted to the actions of search groups behind enemy lines, courage, resourcefulness, initiative and courage of scouts when capturing "languages."