Summer in Zelyony Lug stretches on—through storms, unexpected visitors, and the usual dacha melancholy, which is interrupted by an early rainy morning.
After a night storm, an overturned yacht belonging to Prince Neszvitsky is washed ashore—but there is no one aboard. Neither the owner nor the passengers nor the crew: has the dacha settlement acquired its own ghost ship? Soon they find the body of one of the missing—and it becomes clear that it wasn’t the elements. The merchant’s son, Georgy Rybyn, was killed by a shot. But where have the rest gone?
The only suspect has a solid ironclad alibi—and, besides, he shows far too persistent an interest in Lidia, Falk’s beloved.
And if Vasily Ottovich can still somehow put up with the alibi, then interest in Lidia—under no circumstances. That means the doctor-detective, whether he wants it or not, will have to take up the investigation again.