Rodion Raskolnikov, a destitute student, is obsessed with the idea that "great" individuals are permitted to destroy "life unworthy of life" in order to preserve "worthy" life. He commits a double murder of an old usurer and her half-sister to finance his studies with the stolen money. However, his psyche cannot cope with the act. In a bitter process of self-awareness, he learns to perceive punishment as atonement and experiences the redemptive power of love. "Crime and Punishment," published in 1866, is a crime story of breathtaking tension and is considered Dostoevsky's best-structured novel.