The Symphony of Winter. It is a time when all music freezes. Yet in the mind of a man, a symphony emerges that can give courage and hope to the people in besieged Leningrad. However, it requires a fearless conductor for the work to be performed. A moving novel about the triumph of art over barbarism. "Of course I have no heart! I gave it to Shostakovich many years ago, on that staircase in Leningrad." In the summer of 1941, German soldiers secretly leave Leningrad. A catastrophe is approaching: the city is to be besieged and razed to the ground. Most artists and cultural workers are evacuated. Except for Dmitri Shostakovich, perhaps the most famous Russian composer. He stays to defend his city. By day he digs trenches, by night he works on a new, unprecedented piece.