1920. Large-scale social upheavals plagued Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. Crowds of emigrants rushed to the West in search of salvation from revolutionary Russia in flames. Accustomed to luxury and a carefree life, now they can barely make ends meet. Debt, need, and sometimes complete hopelessness become constant companions for many refugees who have found shelter far from their homeland. The Tarasov family also drags out a semi-beggarly existence in poverty and deprivation: the head of the family brings meager pennies into the house, the mother fixes the linen, the elder brother of the main character of the book Shura is a student, sister Olga is a dancer. Against the backdrop of the dramatic events of the century, the fate of Lev Tarasov unfolds. He, the youngest in the family, could not even imagine that the literary project he and his friend had come up with for fun would change his entire future life... Reading this book, you will witness the transformation of an ordinary teenager into a world-famous writer, a classic of French literature. Henri Troyat , looking at us from the pages, touching and cheerful at the same time, tells about the secrets of his childhood gone forever.