Children's adventure fiction that makes you remember Kir Bulychev and his famous series about Alice. The heroine of the book, lanky thirteen-year-old Ira Shmel, does not look like a charming “guest from the future,” but in all respects she is suitable for the role of the heroine of an adventurous story: she is physically well developed, she has excellent reactions, a heightened sense of justice and a strong desire to make this world a better place. She also loves science fiction. One of her favorite authors is Midas Mikhailov (in the world - Igor Sevastyanich Dmitrienko), in whom knowledgeable people can easily identify Kir Bulychev. It is thanks to him (of course, not Bulychev, but Mikhailov) that Ira, and then her friend Max Antokhin, become agents of the mysterious Directorate - a powerful organization responsible for maintaining world order. It is worth noting the obvious pleasure with which this book was written. “Historical” inserts, presented in the style of the 18th century and typed in pre-reform Cyrillic, add additional charm to it. The author tried to make sure that readers not only watched with bated breath the twists and turns of the fantastic plot, but also learned something about real people and events of the distant past, and became interested in the history of their country.