The city on the Neva is revealed anew for readers, because the style of presentation of information chosen by the author is unique: first, a quote is taken from a famous work or memoir, and Ekaterina supplements it with her own inventions and information from reliable sources, thus introducing her readers to the history of her native cities. So, book one... In it we look into the windows into which the hero of “The Queen of Spades” Hermann, obsessed with excitement, peered, hoping to penetrate the mysterious house and discover the card secret of the grumpy old countess. We find out where Dostoevsky was in a hurry to get home so that, having asked the hostess for a candle, he could lock himself in his room and continue to create. Let's read where the young poet Dmitry Merezhkovsky brought his young wife Zinaida Gippius to meet his parents... And here is the very building past which Valentin Pikul's fictional characters, the poor Kurnosovs, walked past, licking their lips and looking into the windows, dreaming of wealth and admiral glory... Walls old St. Petersburg houses have preserved the images of their heroes, real and fictitious, and we, after tens and hundreds of years, have only to pull the unsteady thread of time, will be able to hear their quiet and ringing, sharp and soft, sad and joyful voices coming from the open windows.