In the summer of 1902, John Barrington Ashley from the city of Coultown, the center of a small coal-mining region in southern Illinois, went on trial on charges of killing Breckenridge Lansing, a resident of the same city. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Five days later, on the night of Tuesday the twenty-second of July, he fled from custody on the way to the place of execution. And five years later, the state prosecutor's office in Springfield announced the disclosure of new circumstances that completely establish Ashley's innocence.

Fate brought Lansing and Ashley seventeen years earlier when they moved to Coaltown with their families. The manager of the mines of Coultown, Breckenridge Lansing, was the exact opposite of John Ashley: he never went to his job “headlong”, but basically only signed orders, which were then posted on the board. In fact, the mines were managed by John Ashley. Alien to ambition and envy, equally indifferent to praises and vilifications, quite happy in his family, he eagerly “covered” Lansing, developed new ideas, drew up dizzying drawings, devoting himself to his work completely and demanding nothing in return. It seemed that nothing could bring this person off balance. During the trial, he did not reveal a shadow of fear, was calm and seemed to expect that at the end of a protracted court procedure a question would be of interest to him: who had killed Breckenridge Lansing?

A strange story happened during the escape of John Ashley. He himself did not lift a finger to free himself. Six people got into a locked carriage and without a single shot, without a single word dealt with the convoys and carried the prisoner out of the train. Ashley had no idea who he owed his release to. Maybe miracles always happen in such a way - simple, casual and incomprehensible. The handcuffs on his wrists parted, he was given clothes, some money, a map, a compass, matches. Someone put his hand on the saddle of a horse and indicated the direction. Then the deliverers sunk into the darkness, and Ashley did not see them again.

Ashley was moving south, in constant tension. He posed as a Canadian sailor looking for work. I have never lived in one place for more than four days. He called himself a different name. But at the same time, he did not feel fear. He lived without fear and without thinking about anything.

Finally, Ashley reached Manantiales, a city in Chile, where he met Mrs. Wickers, the owner of the “foundation” hotel (where Ashley was staying), who soon became his friend. Thanks to this woman, as well as everything seen after the liberation, Ashley is spiritually reborn, who before working did not notice the beauty of the world around him. After the escape, he was struck by the beauty of dawn in Illinois, and now - the beauty of the Chilean mountains, which became his family. For the first time in many years, he recalls his parents, whom, for no good reason, he left many years ago, leaving his wife Beata in Coultown. Before meeting with Mrs. Wickers, Ashley, living in the village of Rocas Verdes, builds a church and agrees that there should be a priest in the village: “it is very bad to impose God on those who do not believe in him, but it’s even worse to obstruct those who without God it cannot. ”

Ashley appeared in the Fund at a critical time for Mrs. Wickersham: the steering wheel with which she always guided the course of her life hesitated in her hands. Being a woman in her years, she could not, as before, keep everything under control: her forces were slowly leaving her. And then, Ashley appeared in the “Fund”. Lively getting down to business, Ashley worked from morning to night, and in the evening, tired of the day, gratefully grateful in the warmth of a friendly conversation with Mrs. Wickers. However, the insightful Mrs. Wickersham quickly realized that her new friend was not saying anything.

Suddenly, Wellington Bristow, a businessman from Santiago, regularly visits the hotel three to four times a year arrives in Manantiales. Mrs. Wickersham is always glad to see him. He brings the latest gossip from the coast, brings animation to the card game, but he is especially interested in “catching rats,” that is, catching runaway prisoners, for whom a large reward is promised. Ashley was clearly interested in him.

Bristow is leaving for a few days on business. Mrs. Wickersham, who suspected something was amiss, decides to check his suitcase and finds there a "list of rats" where information about John Ashley is highlighted. The latter, whom Mrs. Wickersham calls for an explanation, tells her everything. Mrs. Wickersham is shocked, but, having gathered courage, she thinks out how to help her friend by staging his death.

Returning, Bristow no longer hides that Ashley is a runaway criminal, but this discovery does not promise him benefits: by all indications, he is seen to be ill with a deadly disease. And for the police captain, Mrs. Wickersham made a stunning speech, proving that the offender was more likely Bristow, but certainly not Ashley.

Saying goodbye and promising to write, Ashley secretly leaves the hotel, but Mrs. Wickersham receives only one letter from him - he drowned on the road near Costa Rica.

The fate of the children of Ashley has developed in different ways, but everyone is extraordinary. Roger, the only son, immediately after his father's escape, left for Chicago to work and somehow help the family. He reveals the talent of an outstanding journalist, who in a few years will be loved and respected throughout the country.

Lily, the eldest daughter, became an opera singer, having achieved her stubbornness and talent for tremendous heights. She devoted her life to music and raising children, whom she loves and raises selflessly.

Quickly flew out of the clan nest and Constance, whose purpose in life was to help the destitute. Directness and self-confidence went to her as a gift from her father and brother, her extraordinary strength of mind helped her withstand the most difficult trials: the rudeness of the police, insults and hostile attacks of the public. She was the first to put forward the principle of preventive medicine. She managed to collect huge sums for public needs, and most often did not have enough money to pay for a hotel bill. Sophie, who remained with her mother, got more than others: on her still children's shoulders lay concerns about her mother, who had lost her will to live. Realizing that Beata alone could not cope with the family, Sophie picked up the whole household, and later opened a guesthouse in the house. Dr. Gillies, Friend of the Family, has repeatedly warned Beat that Sophie is not up to the burden, but young people always think that they are not sick. As a result, Sophie was seriously ill mentally and ceased to recognize others.

On Christmas Day 1905, Roger arrives in Coultown. On the platform, he meets Felicity Lansing, daughter of the late Breckenridge, who will later become his wife. It turns out that Ashley is not at all to blame for the death of her father. Togo was killed by George, the son of the deceased, and later, unable to learn more and hide the truth, wrote a confession under the dictation of his mentor Olga Dubkova, from whom he secretly took Russian lessons from her father. Having fallen in love with Russian culture as a native, he subsequently left for Russia and became a great actor. Breckenridge Lansing never showed his love to either his wife or children. George used to see in him an insignificant reveler and a rude man who ruined his mother's life. But before his death, Lansing suffered a serious illness, during which he changed a lot. However, only his wife, Justice, became a witness to this rebirth, and George was sure that his father continued to mock his mother, and in desperation decided to kill.

Roger also learns about who freed his father. One day, my father helped the Coventors community church. The isolation of the coventors was explained not only by religious reasons, but also by the fact that Indian blood flowed in their veins. Few could they expect help from, but they could from John Ashley. The elder showed Roger a letter from his father sent before his death. This letter is Ashley's farewell to life, to this world. He has done a lot, his mission has been accomplished, may Roger and his sisters follow suit.

Nature knows no sleep, says Dr. Gillies. Life never stops. The creation of the world is not finished. The Bible teaches us that on the sixth day God created man and then gave himself rest, but each of the six days lasted millions of years. The day of rest was, indeed, very short. Man is not the end, but the beginning. We live at the beginning of the second week of creation. We are the children of Day Eight.