Lykov’s assistant, titular councilor Avestopulo, went to his parents in Odessa, and a misfortune happened there. Fanatic bandit Stepan Balutsa killed old people in their own home. Lykov urgently arrived to help Sergei, in order to find and punish the scoundrel with him. At the same time, the War Ministry asked Stolypin to send an experienced detective there. German spies obtained a secret plan for mining Odessa Bay in case of war. Lykov and Avestopulo are forced to conduct two inquiries simultaneously. Things are going badly: in a lucky city it’s not easy to find a lucky person. In addition, there are many German colonists in Odessa, and almost all of them work for German intelligence. Spies, raiders, smugglers - everyone rallied against the detectives...