The main character of this new novel by Vasilii Aksenov (1932-2009), 1997 Booker Nominee and theater director, Alexandr Korbakh, resembles several modern Russian figures: Andrei Tarkovskii, Vladimir Vysotskii, and the author himself. Korbakh is exiled from his country and goes through all the emigre"s trials and crosses: lack of money, English language skills, and work. This book is about America and Russia, and about a generation that seeks its self-identity and reevaluates its values.