The disgraced oligarch Pyotr Shagarin, whose extradition the Russian authorities are demanding, died suddenly in Prague. Only his wife did not believe in Shagarin’s death. She turned out to be right: before the eyes of Vadim Kravchenko and Sergei Meshchersky, who came to Prague to help with the funeral, Shagarin is resurrected. A week of lethargic sleep did not pass without a trace for this energetic man. For complete rehabilitation, he is sent to Nivetsky Castle, which is located in the Carpathian wilderness. The dark glory of the castle is confirmed: Shagarin’s former lover falls into the abyss, and the son of his friends dies in an accident. These are murders, Kravchenko and Meshchersky are convinced. After all, Vadim, the husband of Katya Petrovskaya, an employee of the Internal Affairs Directorate, and his friend Sergei more than once had to provide assistance in the investigation of crimes. As if to prove their version, the ominous ghost of the Bird Ripper, as this ghoul is called in these parts, begins to flicker in the corridors of the castle...