Historical chronicle novel about the city-principality of Uglich, its princes and the events there, which played, if not the dominant, but one of the main historical events in the formation of the Russian state. Among many of its neighbors along the Golden Ring of Russia with the same ancient, thousand-year, or even more history, this city stands a little apart. What makes it special is the event that took place here at the turn of the 16th–17th centuries. An event that (although not without some stretch) can be considered fateful for the further history of the state. It marked the beginning of wars, riots, interventions - everything that is called the Time of Troubles. Which ultimately led to a change in the ruling dynasty of Russian tsars. Finally, an event that historians still have not come to an unambiguous interpretation.