Defeating an enemy in open battle is a military achievement. Defeating the enemy before the battle begins is the valor of a warrior. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stupnikov and Captain Sergei Kargatov are FSB officers. They fight even before the battle. There is information that a special Chechen gang is led by a highly secretive Sheikh. He is preparing a large-scale terrorist attack using radioactive substances. Identifying and neutralizing the Sheikh and his militants means saving the lives of many. So the operatives “dig”, recruit agents, and calmly communicate with obvious accomplices of bandits posing as civilians. For this “dirty work” both the high army authorities and the combatants look askance at them. But work is work, and it must be done. After all, valuable information can save the most precious thing - human lives. And you also have to pay for it with the most expensive things you have...