Madeira Island. Seven Russian tourists enjoying their holiday in a luxury hotel. But in this earthly paradise the seeds of hell are ripening. Soon they will bloom with lush flowers of evil, falling on the fertile soil of human passions, nurtured by the hand of the devilish gardener. And then a rich harvest was not long in coming: meanness, betrayal, murder... Whose will directs events to a terrible ending? Is it man or Satan himself who moves people like pawns in a bloody game? Does this game have a goal, and what role is assigned to the fatal beauty, the apple of discord that has fallen into the company of friends? “The Layman” is a new mystical adrenaline novel from the master of psychological thriller Alla Dymovskaya.