XIV century. Velikiy Novgorod. Young guys, Nosok and Stoyan, dream of becoming ear guards. But for this you need to arm yourself at your own expense, but there is no money. At the fair, friends witness winter fun - a fight between a bear and a man. Stoyan intervenes in the fight and impales the bear on the horn, saving the fighter. In gratitude he receives a talisman and money from him. The guys become members of Luka Varfolomeev’s detachment and set out on a big campaign to the north. But even in their wildest dreams they could not imagine what unprecedented, dangerous and mysterious adventures awaited them in the lands of the Svei and Lithuanians!.. A new action-packed novel from a true master of the adventure genre!