Adventures of an unfortunate inventor in Abyssinia during the reign of Negus Menelik II. The Italo-Abyssinian War, pushed forward three years, is about to begin. The Russian envoy finds a common language with Prince Makonnin and agrees with the nomads and Mahdists that they will not stab them in the back during the war with Italy. The roar of the Maxims sounded in the desert along with the explosions of grenades, and thanks to the activity of the assailant, the cart of History had already turned off the beaten path and rushed somewhere to the side, crushing the unfortunate Bradbury butterflies.