This writer became a legend during his lifetime. It would seem - one of the largest young Soviet prose writers, who became American, and then, finally, international - he is widely known. But it's an illusion. The difficult fate and work of the famous author of "Colleagues," "Star Ticket," "Burn," "Moscow Saga" and other popular novels and novels - Vasily Aksenov - have always been the topic of gossip, denunciations, tales, myths. His numerous stories, poems, essays, interviews are still of interest today. Dmitry Petrov's book is the result of working with hundreds of texts, dozens of people - relatives, friends, enemies and critics of Aksenov. This is a brave attempt to tell the truth about him. Or maybe make Aksenov an even greater mystery?..