Detective Tatyana Ivanova travels to St. Petersburg to rest from her work and enjoy the white nights. On the train, she meets a charismatic director, Alex Jenenini, who invites her to a rehearsal of the musical “Mary Poppins” at his theater. Tanya doesn’t expect that at the theater she will find not only backstage life, but also a new complicated case. During rehearsal, the lead actress, Svetlana—known for her difficult character and for her influence over the troupe—falls to her death from a height because of a torn rope.
Together with the charming investigator Dmitry Vasilev, Tanya begins a tangled investigation in which many members of the troupe are suspected. Marina Serova is a significant figure in modern Russian detective fiction. She graduated from the law faculty of MSU and worked in the Office of the Prosecutor General, taking part in operational activities. Her fast-paced thrillers, with a total print run exceeding twenty million copies, are extremely popular.