The son of a Black American and a Russian woman travels to America to salute his American heritage. He meets a Black girl with Russian roots. Their relationship doesn't work out because of the American girl's distrust of the Russians, even after they rescue each other from the bandits. They part, but she finds him halfway around the world in Russia and makes him choose between her and his Russian girlfriends.

Variations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 can be read as stand-alone stories, but for a full understanding of the novel philosophy, the connecting thread that runs through the entire novel, the interweaving of characters and their situations, it's better to read the Variations in numbered sequence.