Повесть основана на подлинном случае миссионерской деятельности архиепископа Нила , но написана с характерным для Лескова гротеском и тщательной шлифовкой персонажей. Затронута необычная для русской литературы 19-го века тема свободы вероисповедания. "Making up things is hard labour for me, so I've always felt the need for having before me real faces which could intrigue me with their spirituality; then they get hold of me and I infuse them with new life, using some real-life stories as a basis," wrote Leskov about the characters of this book. Bigger than life characters meet at a missionary expedition to the Siberian North. The subject of freedom of faith is unusual for the 19-century Russian literature. - Summary by Mark Chulsky