In an urban fantasy atmosphere with elements of a detective story, the action unfolds in a magical alternative version of Russia.
Against the backdrop of a magical Academy and intrigues in the Department of Affairs of Magicians, the capital’s Moscow streets are full of charm.
All over the city, seals that keep the guards in check begin to break, and shadows—monsters from the world of chaos—leak into the ordinary world.
Nikolai Pouloag, head of the Guards Service, and his partner Kirill Arty investigate attacks by these creatures. They discover that a group of scientists is running experiments on students at the Academy of Elements, using shadow magic. For their tests, they need a girl whose veins, after a shadow attack, now carry the magic of chaos. But that girl is Kirill’s beloved—someone he is ready to fight for.
The investigation leads them to a shadow mage living in an abandoned tower. This creature is the result of an unsuccessful experiment once conducted by their own mentor.