The book contains three stories about life in the former USSR. They could well be united under the general name "The Lower Depths" that reminds of a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902. The only difference is that Maxim Gorky depicted the social bottom of Russia at the turn of the 20th century, while in this book Vladimir Markman will introduce you to the real bottom of the Soviet Gulag during the period of the "developed socialism" (1970s). The story "On the edge of geography"was written, based on the author's own impressions and observations of the fractures in the fate of the "villains" and "angels" who lived on both sides of the barbed wire of Soviet penitentiary camp. Nobility and betrayal, brutal murders and mercy, love and hatred... The poles change unpredictably in the life of a person who is "led along a dashing road" - as the poet Vladimir Vysotsky put it. The other two stories are also closely related by a common theme and have something in common with the first work, although they are less autobiographical. In them, the author narrates without comments and pre-formulated conclusions. The reader is to draw his/her own conclusions. Vladimir Markman is a tireless traveler and adventurer. The mystical Ural Mountains, the taiga wilds of Siberia, the deserts of Nevada and Arizona, the respectable salons of New York and San Francisco... Acquaintance with people of different cultures and social circles invariably provides the author with rich material for his novels and short stories - always and everywhere.