The novel “The Serapion Brothers” by the famous German romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) is a cycle of narratives united by the framing story of young writers - the Serapion brothers. Incredible events, vampires, necromancers, mysterious beauties come to life on the pages of a book that has not been completely published in Russian translation for more than 70 years.

In the summer of 18**, a brilliant society gathered on the waters of Pyrmont, and The custom of playing cards every night naturally developed. One of the players, Baron Siegfried, attracted everyone's attention with his phenomenal luck. An unfamiliar gentleman decided to warn the baron and told him the story of a happy gambler...