The First Second Coming: In Polynsk, there is – just as there ought to be – the town’s very own madman, Ivan Zakharovich Nikhilov. He decided that his neighbour, Pyotr Salabonov,  was Christ re-born. Pyotr made a joke of it at first, argued, lost his temper – but he was just an ordinary mortal, a common sinner.  He was a sinner when it came to love as well, enchanted by his distant cousin. Later on – just for fun – he agrees to put himself through some of the trials and tribulations described in the Gospels.  By chance he manages to cure one of his neighbours, an old woman suffering from back ache. Nikhilov immediately elevated this feat to the rank of a miracle and people suffering from all kinds of maladies start gathering at Pyotr’s house. Pyotr makes off to another town, where he encounters a con-man by the name of Nikodim, who realizes straightaway that good use can be made of Pyotr’s talents. He organizes a tour. Soon the local militia put a stop to it all and Pyotr is obliged to go back to his home. He tries to pick up the threads of his former life, but discovers it’s impossible. He comes to a sorry end. The main idea of the book is that it is fatal to discover not the evil in oneself but precisely the good. We have to change but hardly anyone enjoys that process.