In a puddle, Ioan the geographer and the Armenian Zadic awaken. Where do they come from? Where are they going? Times and stories overlap like ice floes: winter and war, lonely nights spent drinking with demons by the fire; large dogs and big birds engage in bloody battles with rusty guns. Light and darkness, desire and fear are locked in a bitter struggle. Grumpy didacticists speculate about the world and beans; death and plague lead to the final devilish hospital. In the end, Ioan and Zadic spread their wings, intoxicated by mastic, and the world darkens forever. "Handbook of Times" is regarded as a modern classic of Romania. Many of today's young authors see Agopian as a role model.