In the courtyard of his own country house, young priest Georgy Velyaminov is murdered. He didn’t conduct missionary work and was known only to a narrow circle of parishioners. Who could Father Georgy have gotten in the way of? Orest Volin tries to find the answer to this question and begins investigating the crime.
Meanwhile, General Vorontsov decrypts a new batch of Nestor Zagorsky’s diaries. This time, they are connected to events from 1904–1905. The Russo-Japanese War is in full swing. Nestor Zagorsky reveals in Saint Petersburg a spy network run by the Japanese subject Kenzo Kamakura. Kamakura is arrested. During the further investigation, curious details emerge indicating Kamakura’s connection with a representative of the Polish Socialist Party, Captain Shimansky, who has secret information capable of dealing enormous damage to Russia. Shimansky flees Saint Petersburg. Zagorsky, along with Ganzalin, sets out to find him.