1916. Anticipating a long-awaited rest, civil adviser Ardashev arrives in Kyiv to visit relatives of his wife. Everything, it seems, is starting off well… The next day, Klim Panteleyevich buys his wife an expensive gift at a jewelry store—golden watches set with precious stones. However, already the following morning it turns out the watch is broken. It looks like Ardashev was sold a fake! He goes to the store to clear up the misunderstanding and finds—behind the counter—besides a dead jeweler, two more corpses. The police, arriving at the scene, detain Ardashev as a suspect in the murder, and the civil adviser is forced to forget about his vacation—now he must not only clear himself of charges, but also investigate the crime…