Leningrad under siege. The house where Tanya, Shurka and Bobka, who were left without parents, lived was bombed. It’s good that Aunt Vera has a key to another apartment. But winter is approaching, and for some reason my stomach hurts all the time, new neighbors are disappearing one after another, Aunt Vera is still missing, and then Tanya has lost her bread cards... The frozen, emptying city seems to be hunting for those who are still alive, and those who come to life , who cannot be called alive. Trying to escape, the children end up in Tuonela - a world where time has stopped and different laws apply. To get out of there, Tanya, Shurka and even little Bobka will have to make a choice - otherwise they will be overtaken by a gray man in a creaky cart. Before you is the second of five books in the “Leningrad Tales” series. The first, “The Raven's Children,” was named the main event of 2016 in teenage literature, was included in the shortlist of the Yasnaya Polyana literary award and was included in the international “White Crows” list - among the best 200 books from 60 countries.