The events of the Series unfold from 1913 to 1921. It all begins when cadet Dyakonov challenges his fellow student Sergei Kirsanov-Dvinsky to a duel. The duel ends with Dyakonov’s death. Dvinsky is appointed to replace the deceased man on guard duty at a gala concert by an orchestra of Russian folk instruments, which Emperor Nicholas II himself is due to attend. Also playing in the orchestra is a young worker, Matvei Osipov, who is secretly a member of the Socialist Revolutionary organization plotting an assassination attempt on the emperor. The third heroine of the Series is the ambitious poet Sofya Bekker, with whom Matvei falls in love, followed by Sergei. Soon, the lives of these young people will change radically, as will the lives of everyone in the country.
