For the first time in Russian, the long-awaited new novel by Diana Setterfield — the acclaimed author of “The Thirteenth Tale,” recognized as a masterpiece of contemporary English prose. It has made critics talk about the return of the golden age of the British novel, crowned with the names of Charlotte and Emily Brontë and Daphne du Maurier. In childhood, William Bellman kills a rook with a slingshot; that impossible shot across the field nevertheless hits its target. The act is soon forgotten, but it has unpredictable and tragic consequences many years later, when William has grown up, become a respected man, and is happily married with four children. After all, rooks forget nothing… And then, one night in the cemetery, William makes an incredible bargain with a stranger in black who has entered his life in a mysterious way — a deal that will forever change William’s fate.