In Imperial Russia a lad named Povilas aka Pavel struggles to find significance to his life Averse to farming and conscription into the military he aspires to succeed on his intellect At eighteen he goes to St Petersburg to work as a metallurgist at the Putilov factory He learns his coworkers are a group of antiCzar proletariats Seeking happiness he travels to work at a factory that produces cannonballs He finds the love of his life and they start a family Soon he is sought out by the government because of his knowledge in metallurgy They send him to serve in the RussoJapanese War half a world away After Russias defeat Povilas anticipates a revolution and escapes on the TransSiberian express How will he protect his family