First published in Switzerland in 1892, finally printed in Russia in 1906, and never before translated into English, Нигилистка is the coming-of-age story of Vera Barantsova, a young aristocrat who longs to devote her life to a cause. Her privileged world is radically changed by Alexander I's emancipation of the serfs. Vera first hopes to follow in the footsteps of Christian martyrs, but a neighboring landowner—a liberal professor fired from his position at Saint Petersburg University and exiled to his estate—opens her eyes to the injustice in Russia.

A blend of social commentary and psychological observation, Нигилистка depicts the clash between a generation of youth who find their lives caught up by political action and a society unwilling to abandon its patriarchal traditions.