K pastoru prihodyat ispovedatsya, oblegchit dushu, rasskazat gore, poprosit soveta. Kazhetsya, chto pastor dolzhen znat otvety na vse voprosy, kotorye muchayut cheloveka neposvyaschennogo. Rass Hildebrandt, prihodskoy svyaschennik, hotel by v eto verit, no v ego zhizni i dushe – haos i smyatenie. Rass kazhetsya sebe blednoy tenyu svoey proshloy zhizni, ego brak treschit po shvam, on beznadezhno vlyublen v svoyu prihozhanku, a ego chetyre rebenka vnezapno vyrastayut i okazyvayutsya vtyanuty v krugovorot zhizni, polnyy soblaznov i opasnostey.
Pered geroyami vstayut znakomye nam vsem problemy, i poroy eti problemy nerazreshimy. Lyubov k Bogu, grehovnost chuvstva, otvetstvennost pered soboy i pered lyudmi, pugayuschaya avtonomnost detey, stydnaya slabost roditeley. Zhizn – eto chereda rasputiy – perekrestkov, – i kazhdyy v etom romane vybiraet sam, gde iskat spaseniya ili hotya by utesheniya.
