The titular adviser Azvestopulo, assistant to Lykov, went to visit his parents in Odessa—and something went wrong there. A cruel bandit, Stepan Balutsa, killed the old people in their own house. Lykov rushed in to help Sergei, so they could find and punish the villain together. At the same time, the War Ministry asked Stolypin to send an experienced investigator there as well. German spies managed to obtain a secret plan for mining the Odessa harbor in case of war. Lykov and Azvestopulo are forced to conduct two inquiries at the same time. The case is moving slowly: in a lucky city, it’s hard to find a lucky person. Besides, there are many German colonists in Odessa, and almost all of them work for German intelligence. Spies, raiders, smugglers—all have joined forces against the investigators…