"Korsakov's Archive", part II. 1880. Vladimir Korsakov returns to St. Petersburg after chasing an artist who paints cursed portraits. But the young man’s plans to spend the capital’s dreary autumn in warmth and comfort were not destined to come true. After all, in an abandoned mansion in the very center of St. Petersburg, the participants in the ancient ritual had already disappeared without a trace, and Korsakov’s talents attracted the attention of a mysterious gendarmerie colonel with unlimited powers.