The central part of the collection consists of articles about the work of Daniil Kharms: his connections with the work of A. A. Blok, his relationships with the poet N. A. Klyuev, his friends from OBERIU, and the circumstances that led to his arrest and death in a prison hospital.

Additionally, the book includes articles about writers from the 18th to the 20th centuries: the famous poet I. S. Barkov; the attempt to use A. S. Pushkin's work for propaganda to oppose the censorship reform of the 1860s; N. S. Gumilev and the circumstances preceding his death; the unknown aspects of M. M. Zoshchenko's work; the persecution of writer L. I. Dobychin, which led to his mysterious disappearance in 1936; the strange fate of the publications and interpretations of the rare "adult" novel "Viktor Vavich" by children's author B. S. Zhitkov; the work of B. Sh. Okudzhava; the diverse talents of A. M. Kondratov, the last Soviet futurist, and others.

The works of V. N. Sazhin are predominantly based on numerous archival sources.

The cover design features an engraving by Acad. K. Ya. Afanasyev and a fragment of a photo of D. Kharms from 1929.