When a drowning man is found in the Thames - a young John Harmon who has come to London to inherit - his money goes to a respectable Mr. Boffin, who takes under his wing Bella Wilfer, the bride of the deceased heir. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexham, the daughter of the boatman who found Harmon's body, becomes an apple of contention between Bradley Hadston's young teacher and Eugene Rayburn's gentleman. This is a story about two women from different worlds, but going the same way - in search of happiness and their place in life, and what money, love, lies and passion can do with life. Our Common Friend was published monthly from May 1864 to November 1865, with illustrations by Mark Stone. The first Russian translation was printed in the "Notes of the Fatherland" in 1864-1866. Comments — D. Shestakov