The collection includes two short stories and three stories in the detective-adventure genre. The heroes are ordinary provincial residents, without connections or exceptional skills. They will have to search for treasures and ancient relics, fight crime and Satanism, in which they can only rely on themselves. Standing a little apart are the humorous stories “The Botanist,” about the confrontation between the US and Russian intelligence services, and “The Case of the Stolen Watermelon,” a parody of Soviet-era detective stories. The story “Vacation under the Sign of the Cross” and the story “The Case of the Stolen Watermelon” are published for the first time.