1828. Ten years ago, the French citizen Nathan Gorlis arrived in Odessa and found himself in the center of the events described in the novel "The Nobleman from the Fish Shops". This time Russia is on the verge of war with Turkey. And now Odessa is a front-line city. And this means: an enthusiastic imperial frenzy, supported by the arrival of Nicholas I with a beautiful wife and daughter, the search for Ottoman spies, as well as less important things, like supplying the Russian army, rushing to Constantinople. In the meantime, a lot of mysterious things are happening: the story of a million-dollar testament, the gendarme intrigue with the "Network of Greatness" conspiracy, and the tragic funnel of events around the city's favorite - the brilliant courier Lucien and his lover. Natan Gorlis, policeman Afanasy Drymov, and Cossack citizen Stepan Kochubey are involved in the search for criminals in different ways. Within their trinity, relations have now become difficult.