Frederick Ruysch is a Dutch anatomist and forensic physician of the 17th - early 18th centuries, who saw aesthetics in death and created a unique collection, which gave rise to the famous collection of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera. Dr. Ruysch devoted his entire life to experiments with dead flesh and created a recipe that allowed his anatomical preparations and embalmed corpses to be preserved forever. The enlightened and curious Tsar Peter the Great visited the anatomical theater of Ruysch in Amsterdam more than once and, inspired, firmly decided to assemble his own collection of rarities in St. Petersburg, buying drugs from the Dutchman for a lot of money and putting a lot of effort into finding out the secret of its magical composition. The historical-mystical novel by Sergei Arno with a parallel developing modern detective-romantic plot tells the story of Professor Ruysch, his eerie anatomical experiments, the specific scientific interests of Peter the Great and the embodiment of his strange idea, which changed the fate of St. Petersburg, making it a special city, a city like no other. Earth.