This book is the second volume of Gorkys autobiographical novel trilogy. After the death of his mother, Aliocha sets out to earn his own living. First he is the errand boy in a shoe shop; then, in turn, a draughtsmans apprentice, a dishwasher on a Volga steamboat, and an apprentice in a studio where icons are painted. Repulsed by the ugly mediocrity of middle-class life, by the ""senseless, stupid animosity poisoning the life around him,"" he constantly searches for something better.