The roads of Sergei Tarkhanov and Vadim Lyakhov—comrades-in-arms—after their return from “the other side” diverge further and further. The first, like a real combat officer, remains a convinced supporter of the monarchy and serves not out of fear, but out of conscience. The second, increasingly sensing the unreality of what’s happening, ends up—whether he wants to or not—in opposition to the surrounding world. Lyakhov will have to find answers to the cursed questions “what to do” and “who is to blame”—because that’s just the kind of person he is. For now, one thing is clear: as a pawn in someone else’s game, he will never be—no matter who is sitting at the board: the Grand Duke, God, or his mysterious henchmen calling themselves “Andreev’s Brotherhood.”