Author Vicka Markov Surovtsov shares the entire story of her family in three parts, telling the story of her parents prior to leaving Russia, an account of her family's life in Egypt, and a description of her return visit to Russia as an adult. Shortly before the death of her father in 1961, Vicka Markov Surovtsov made a promise to him that she would visit Russia when the Communist regime ended. She had her doubts that the time would ever come, but after the 1991 overthrow of the Soviet Government she is finally able to keep her promise. Both her mother and father kept diaries of their lives, and much of the book is based upon them, along with her own memories. fulfills her promise to her father and documents her own experiences in present-day Russia.