Historical note;

Prologue: A solitary human voice;

Part I: The land of the dead. On why we remember; About what can be talked about with the living and the dead; About a whole life written down on doors; By those who returned; About what radiation looks like; About a song without words; About a homeland; About how a person is only clever and refined in evil; Soldiers' chorus;

Part II: The land of the living. About old prophecies ; About a moonlit landscape ; About a man whose tooth was hurting when he saw Christ fall ; About a single bullet ; About how we can't live without Chekhov and Tolstoy ; About war movies ; A scream ; About a new nation ; About writing Chernobyl ; About lies and truths ; People's chorus;

Part III: Amazed by sadness. About what we didn't know: death can be so beautiful ; About the shovel and the atom ; About taking measurements ; About how the frightening things in life happen quietly and naturally ; About answers ; About memories ; About loving physics ; About expensive salami ; About freedom and the dream of an ordinary death ; About the shadow of death ; About a damaged child ; About political strategy ; By a defender of the Soviet government ; About instructions ; About the limitless power one person can have over another ; About why we love Chernobyl ; Children's chorus ; A solitary human voice;
In place of an epilogue.