“For almost a hundred years now, this mysterious story has been exciting the imagination of writers and scientists. A darker, more controversial and more popular story cannot be found. Nobody knows anything definite about it, but everyone believes in it. The long imprisonment and careful precautions to isolate the prisoner evoke involuntary sympathy, and the mystery shrouding the victim further increases it. Perhaps, if the name of the hero of this story had been known, it would have already been forgotten, it would have turned into an ordinary crime, interest in which would have disappeared long ago. But the punishment this man was subjected to was unprecedented - even solitary confinement was not enough to keep the secret. Who was this masked man? What was the reason for his imprisonment - the debauchery of a courtier or diplomatic intrigue, a death sentence or a battle to the death? What did he lose? Love, glory, throne? How did he behave, enduring torment and having no hope? Did he curse and blaspheme or just sigh obediently? Each person experiences suffering in his own way and imagines the torment of a prisoner based on his own imagination and his own feelings...”