The world described in the novel “The Way of the Sword”, three to four hundred years later. The few surviving Shining Ones (intelligent bladed weapons) live out their lives in “prisons” and “almshouses” - museums and private collections. Human civilization completely escaped their influence, and animate swords and halberds remained only in fairy tales and endless “fantasy” television series, such as the famous “Cheng-in-the-Glove.” His Majesty of Progress has unfolded in all its breadth, and now the former world of Chen Anchor and the Unicorn is not much different from our usual everyday life: high-rise buildings sparkling with glass and plastic, telephones, televisions, cars, airplanes, computers, firearms, regional conflicts between parts of the disintegrated Kabir Emirate... In general, “everything is like people’s”. The world has become simple and understandable. But...But! In this “simple and understandable” world, very non-trivial events occur. For almost a month, a general epidemic of drowsiness has been raging throughout the entire territory, for which no one can find an explanation; dozens of people die from the mysterious and again inexplicable “Crossbow Prank” - when a weapon explodes in your hands at the most inopportune moment, or starts shooting on its own, or... Or when the same nightmare haunts hundreds of people, and the unfortunate ones are one after the other others, unable to bear it, bring an indifferent trunk clogged with sand to their temple. An epidemic of suicide, an epidemic of drowsiness; a strange girl hiding under an old shawl a belt with a dozen Bao-Gun throwing knives, with which she kills four armed terrorists in a matter of seconds; amazing dreams of historian Rashid al-Shinbi; psychic doctor Kadal Hanuman tries to treat a string of schizoid nightmares that plagues the Alamut organized crime clan; a closed police investigation is underway - and all the threads converge on the privileged mekteb (lyceum) “Finest Hour”, whose leadership, as everyone knows, is obsessed with astrology. And so on the eve of Nowruz - New Year - inside the lattice fence of the “Finest Hour”, by the will of fate, they gather : heil-bashi of the Durban police Farshedward Ali Bey and retired huntsman Karen, doctor Kadal and the corn-eared drunkard-arakchi, historian Rashid al-Shinbi with his girlfriend and sheikh “Alamut” Ravil al-Rawi with a bodyguard, half-crazed sword slasher, mekteb employees, security, several children, a strange girl and her paralyzed grandmother... What price will they all have to pay to be able to get out, to preserve a human appearance, not to choke on the air saturated with the pungent smell of fear, confusion and imminent tragedy?! And will it be so easy to preserve a person within oneself when reality is indistinguishable from visions, yesterday’s friends become enemies, outdoor video cameras do not need electricity, pistols refuse to shoot, but as always, the throwing knives are reliable, and the girl will not part with them? A girl - or a vile creature?! Passions are quickly heating up, “spiders in a jar” are ready to fight for life or death, the first blood has already been shed... With what Will this crazy night of Nouruz - New Year end? What will the coming year bring to the people locked in the mekteb - and not only to them, but to all of Humanity?