The fascinating retro detective story ideally preserves and develops the traditions of Boris Akunin’s works about the adventures of detective Fandorin. Detective Ardov has a unique memory, and this quality allows him to mentally return to the scene of the crime, which in a short time makes the young man a star of criminal investigation of the late 19th century “The Roman Room Method” is a method known since ancient times for restoring the circumstances of the past in memory, which Ilya Alekseevich Ardov masterfully masters. After graduating from the University of Zurich, for some reason he decides to join the service as an agent of the detective department of the Spasskaya part of St. Petersburg. In order to have grounds to refuse an unexpected applicant, bailiff Troekrutov instructs Ardov to solve the theft of hat pins. The probationary period is three days. Unraveling a crime in the allotted time is beyond the power of an experienced investigator, especially if someone starts killing wealthy gentlemen with stolen pins...