1870s. In St. Petersburg, a Mongol prince who sold his soul to the devil was killed, and a little later the writer Kamensky was shot with a silver bullet.

1893. On the banks of the Volkhov River, the retired chief of the detective police talks about his most extraordinary investigation.

1913. Russian officer Solodovnikov takes part in a military campaign in Mongolia.

1918. On the streets of St. Petersburg, Mongolian lamas offer prayers under the sign “suuvastik.”

Four times, four eras are intertwined in the novel into a whimsical tangle of crimes and punishments, which only one person can unravel - Ivan Dmitrievich Putilin.< /p>

His talent as a detective sheds light not only on the past, but also on the future.