An ancient painting with the ominous title “Bluebeard’s Lover” has been stolen from the city museum. For some reason, the thieves ignored the unspoken rule and took away the canvas along with the heavy stretcher. Police captain Arkhip Shchukin, guessing about the mysterious past of the stolen exhibit, is trying to find out its origin. He soon learns that shortly before his disappearance, the Italian citizen Natale di Monteverio, who sat for hours in front of the image of the blond beauty, was interested in the portrait. As the foreigner explained, the history of the painting is closely connected with the fate of the wealthy Russian landowner Gordeeva, who was arrested in 1819 while trying to escape from Russia with that very portrait...