The book by the famous playwright Svyatoslav Tarakhovsky tells about the fascinating, but full of risk, profession of an antiquarian. His heroes are our contemporaries, a little crazy, but dedicated art collectors. What exquisite monstrosities do not multiply in the antique scene! Fake, substitution, deception. Envy, betrayal, meanness. Tears, blood and death. What high feelings do not delight the antique world from time to time! Insight and nobility. Generosity and selflessness. Sacrifice and love. All this, high and low, taken together, is what life, adventure and detective work are based on. All that feeds the narrator of this book. Everything that drives and chases the reader’s eye across its pages and even - it’s scary to think! - makes him forget about the television series for a while.