The mystery of Mikhail Titov’s origins has been solved—his father has been found, and so has his mother. But… Somehow the milk rivers with jelly banks didn’t start flowing, and life didn’t get any easier. Mikhai isn’t the kind who bends to circumstances; but if, instead of studying at college, sorting out the housing issue, romantic strolls with a girl, and reading his favorite little books, an unexpected prospect appears—of solving state problems, unraveling palace intrigues, and preventing dynastic crises—then anyone might start to wonder about the meaning of life and the transience of being!