Many have come into contact with mysteries, but not everyone has the courage to solve them, especially if the solution involves mortal danger. Student Tikhon Zakolov is not one of them. Amazing adventures, paradoxical puzzles and unpredictable dangers await him on the way to his goal. Bravery and nobility, ingenuity and intelligence help the main character unravel mysterious incidents. 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Before deciding on a missile strike, Khrushchev orders the extraction of Timur's skull, which has enormous mystical power. Only the scientist Efremov knows about the burial place of the skull, who goes to his death without having time to convey the secret to the cameraman Kasymov. 1979 Kasymov in Tashkent gives an interview to student Kushnir, in which he tells how on June 21, 1941 the crypt with the ashes of Timur was opened, after which The Great Patriotic War began. Kasymov hints that the skull of the cruel commander was hidden separately, and he has a key that can reveal this secret. Kushnir and Zakolov begin a deadly search. At each stage, risking your life, you need to solve a sophisticated riddle in order to move forward. The trail leads to ancient cities: Samarkand, Bukhara, Urgench, Khiva. But it turns out that other forces are also hunting for Timur’s skull, stopping at nothing.