Written by the author of Grey is the Colour of Hope, in which she tells about the four years she spent in labour camp for her dissident activity, this book goes back to life before her arrest, interweaving her experiences growing up in Odessa with those of her childhood friend and future husband Geraschenko: a biased education, pressure to work for the KGB, the growth of faith and literary awareness, a moving, improptu wedding and a sham trial.