The novel tells the story of young and naive European Socialist Vasily (Wilhelm) Rainer who comes to Russia to somehow apply his rootless, artificial ideas to the local reality. The action takes place in houses of state officials and merchants, in literary circles of Moscow and Saint Petersburgh, in editorial rooms, Polish revolutionaries' headquarters. Among those surrounding Rainer are some honest people (like Liza Bakhareva, another character who's been shown by Leskov with great sympathy), but in general the 'nihilist' community is being portrayed in the novel as a bunch of amoral crooks for whom high ideals serve as mere means to their own ends; such characters (Arapov, Beloyartsev, Zavulonov, Krasin) the author treated with open disgust."