When the world is dying, there are no winners and no losers. The nuclear war that burned the planet threw everyone back hundreds of years—both technologically and, more importantly, socially. Some countries are now nothing but scorched deserts, others are covered in radioactive jungles, and across the American prairies nomadic tribes of mutants wander. And among people are born those who possess abilities unimaginable before the catastrophe. Where once Russia stretched out, now stands a loose conglomerate of appanage principalities. And as a cementing force over them stand a few organizations rooted in the distant—still prewar—past. The main ones are the Church and the Order—rivals that managed to get along somehow for the sake of the future… Two ride through the ruins of once great country: an old man with a head full of secrets, and a boy who was trained to kill and is obliged— even at the cost of his own life— to ensure the safety of his companion. Where the Order’s warriors are going, what adventures await them, and whether the companions forced upon them along the way are random—this is what Vlad Angarsky must find out. A squire dreaming of becoming a knight. A person for whom duty and honor matter more than life.