Because he is born illegitimate, Friederich Kargan lacks even a social identity. Moving to Vienna, he becomes involved both in revolutionary agitation and a love affair before he is caught by the authorities on his first trip to Russia,nbsp;enduring a Siberian interlude before escaping. He eventually returns to Russia after the February Revolution, becomingnbsp;leader of the Red Army, butnbsp;realizesnbsp;during the civil war that the revolution seems to be over before it has begun; the cause has been betrayed, yesterday’s proletariat has become today’s bourgeoisie; exile might offer the only choice.nbsp;A beautifully descriptive journey from loneliness into an illusory worldliness and back into loneliness, thisnbsp;is a haunting study in alienation by a master of realistic imagination.