Odessa. A city where the sea laughs with waves, and the streets whisper sinful temptations. Nadia came here for happiness, but all she found was dirt, betrayal, and a long way to the bottom. Lazar Carmen paints the life of the Odessa underground without embellishment: thieves' dens, taverns where cheap wine is poured, and brothels that have become the last refuge for those who have nowhere else to go.Society called prostitutes "human goods", "fallen creatures", not wanting to see real people behind these labels. But behind each name there is fate: Nadia, Betya, Rosa the Gypsy, Sasha the Chansonnette, Tosca, Tsukki, Ksyura the Fire Barrel, Sima the Fire... Their stories are intertwined into a single picture of fall and despair.Lazar Carmen (real name Lazar Osipovich Korenman, 1876-1920) was a journalist and publicist who was called "Odessa Gorky" for his deep sympathy for the humiliated and disadvantaged. His novel "At the Bottom of Odessa" (1904) is the forerunner of A. Kuprin's "Pit" and I. Babel's "Odessa Stories".The book also includes: "The Answer to Faith" (1903), written together with V. Jabotinsky, journalistic pamphlets "Beware!" and "Wake Up!" (1904), compiled by the author for the Odessa branch of the Russian Society for the Protection of Women, are appeals to single prostitutes and residents of "merry houses", where he not only denounces the system, but also offers real help.