[1] The action of the novel takes place during 1960/1961, when a crisis occurred in Albanian-Soviet relations.
The protagonist of the novel is journalist Besnik Struga, who travels to Moscow as a translator for the Albanian delegation.
In the capital of the USSR, he becomes a witness to the negotiations and intrigues that take place during an exceptionally harsh winter.
The negotiations taking place in Moscow were largely reconstructed by Kadare based on authentic meeting protocols and witness accounts.
[2][3] The first version of the novel, published in 1973, was titled "The Winter of Great Solitude" (Albanian: "Dimri i Vetmisë së Madhe").