The ancient Greek hero Prometheus brought divine fire from Olympus, and people managed to enclose it in a precious ruby. The magic stone helped its owner to reveal true talent. Rubin ended up with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, but he could not cope with the power of the divine flame and shot himself... In Leningrad in the fifties, the poet Afanasy Zykov was brutally murdered - he was stabbed to death in his own bed. An ancient medallion with a huge ruby disappeared from the chest of the murdered man. None of the poet’s relatives know where and when he got this stone and why he so zealously kept it from strangers... What a rarity this is - real, true talent! And what facets can it sparkle if a person takes possession of a stone with a divine flame? What heights he can reach, what masterpieces he can give to humanity! What if this ruby falls into the hands of an ordinary person, slightly gifted, very ambitious and greedy for fame? What will be the retribution for such a gift? Artifact & Detective is a series for readers with discerning taste. Mysteries of history, fatal objects of art, brilliant modern intrigue against the background of exquisite decorations of antiquity. The plot is based on the search for an ancient artifact. The artifact is timeless, and who knows whether the passion for it will subside in the new century?!