Yerevan, 1970s. The young Hayk Menejyan strives to make sense of the world around him—his parents, their social circle, his classmates, and the harshness of life. Everything seems enigmatic. Chance encounters with the lingering effects of historical events gradually, step by step, unveil some of the mysteries of the past, though by no means all. Many episodes in the novel are drawn from the authentic diary entries of the adolescent, beginning in 1979.