Rebinder Effect

Leo's grandmother is hurriedly returning from France to Russia, cutting off all ties with her relatives and never mentioning her husband. Kira's family hides photographs of her aunt from prying eyes, while Nadezhda doesn't tell her children about their father the priest. Behind all this is the dekulakization, exiles, the doctors' affair, and, strangely enough, love, which turns out to be more terrible than war and death. The novel becomes more than just a family saga as it encompasses the history of several families united by marriage, infidelity, and the tragedies of the 20th century.