The centuries-old chronicle of Russia is written in blood. The fabric of its history is woven from endless unrest, wars, coups, and upheavals. Why? Trying to answer this question, the historian Zakharov comes to a stunning discovery, about which he writes to his former student Sergei Avilov. Zakharov soon dies under strange circumstances. At the same time, journalist Avilov finds himself at the epicenter of incomprehensible, terrible events. One thing is clear: they are all connected with the discovery that the late teacher hinted at in his last letter. Sergei takes the fight to the dark force that is pursuing him. Losing friends and loved ones, the journalist is step by step closer to solving the most terrible of Russian secrets. Along this path with Avilov are his friends and the mysterious Patron. Against is a certain Puppeteer who has been ruining the life and destiny of Russia for centuries. What kind of power, what supernatural abilities is this creature endowed with, if it can do this? And how is the oligarch Lozovsky, who declared himself a personal enemy of the Russian President, connected with him?