In Rankin's latest novel from the famous series of detective stories about Inspector Rebus, the Scottish detective veteran, already retired by the author, returns to duty and gives a master class to the younger generation of investigators. Rebus, who has devoted a quarter of a century to criminal investigation, has a chance to prove that it is too early to write him off. Unfortunately for him, the Prosecutor General's office resumes the investigation into a thirty-year-old murder case, which casts a shadow on a group of former criminal intelligence officers. The legendary brigade of detectives in the past was something like a secret brotherhood with its own charter and rituals. They called themselves “saints”, and the last to be accepted into their ranks was the young constable John Rebus... So who are they, these saints in police uniform: guardians of the law or criminals, sinners or righteous people? And who is Rebus himself - then and now? For the first time in Russian.