The Case of the Heir Tsesarevich

These are our days. In France, a former Russian citizen is brutally murdered. The French authorities suspect it may have something to do with the so-called Russian mafia and want to involve a specialist from the Russian Investigative Committee. Senior investigator Oreste Volin of the Investigative Committee is sent on a business trip to France, taking with him another batch of Zagorsky’s diaries.

1890. The heir to the Russian throne, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov, is sent on a major eastern journey. According to the plan, he must visit several countries: Greece, India, Egypt, Ceylon, Singapore, Java, Siam. The last in the list are China and Japan.

In February 1891, adviser S—patron of Nestor Vasilyevich Zagorsky—reports to Zagorsky that perhaps in Japan the heir may be in danger. It’s possible that there will be an attempt on his life. Therefore, he asks Zagorsky to go to Japan and protect the cesarevich. Zagorsky, however, assumes the attack may happen earlier, even in China. Therefore, they need to reach Hong Kong before the cesarevich appears there. But they only have a month. How to get from St. Petersburg to Hong Kong in a month, considering the Trans-Siberian Railway is still only in plans? The case seems almost impossible—unless you’re Nestor Vasilyevich…