Kharkov, autumn 1943. The occupation is behind, ahead is a difficult period of recovery. Hastily organized groups of specialists - architects, educators, public utilities - are sent on a voluntary-compulsory basis to help the City. Or rather, what is left of it.But not everything is so gloomy. In the light of a kagan, conversations are warmer, morning runs for water heal, and walks along the ruins of your favorite buildings temper your nerves. Someone rejoices that he can be useful, someone is angry that they took him straight from the front. Someone quietly mourns the dead, someone screams, demanding retribution and compensation. Some meet old acquaintances who survived the occupation and are amazed at their courage, others poison their loved ones for their "connection" with the fascist authorities. Everything is like everywhere else.Journalist Vladimir Morskoy also arrives in Kharkiv with the first wave of re-evacuation. And then he plunges into the investigation of a string of crimes. It’s good that there are trusted friends nearby, it’s bad that each of them becomes a target for a killer ...