Nikolai Gumilyov brought from his last African expedition the skin of a black leopard he killed with his own hands. The poet had no idea that hidden in the head of the trophy was an ancient Abyssinian relic, stolen on the eve of his arrival and thus transported to the young Land of the Soviets. The owner of the smuggled parcel died before he could pick it up, and Gumilyov did not get the Ethiopian gold either. The treasure changed owners, but did not bring happiness to any of them. And now, almost a hundred years later, the mysterious order of leopard people is ready to do anything to return the gem of the Queen of Sheba to its historical homeland, and the young journalist Sonya Korablina, against her own will, becomes involved in the crime...