The family saga 'I planned an escape ...', completed by the author in 1999, became a kind of result of various searches, and according to other literary critics, one of the peaks of Russian novelistics of the 20th century. Yuri Polyakov, telling the story of an ordinary couple of the Bashmakovs, immerses us in the complex, changeable and subtle world of relations between a man and a woman connected by habitual love and family ties, which are sometimes perceived by them as fetters. And the main thing here, the author believes, is not to confuse the crisis with the collapse. The family drama unfolds against the backdrop of important historical events - the last years of the existence and collapse of a great country called the USSR.Since its writing, this book has withstood about twenty editions and continues to be in demand among the discerning reader who appreciates a sharp plot, subtle psychology, clever irony, appropriate eroticism and a refined aphoristic style. Referring to the writer's gender frankness, one of the critics exclaimed: 'Polyakov turned us in, the men, with all the guts!'.The longseller "I planned an escape ..." was filmed, translated into many languages, and in China was recognized as the best foreign novel of 2004.