Russia. The second half of the 19th century. The well-known Russian novelist Nina Ligova, who writes under the pseudonym Mr. Apostolsky, lives in Odessa. Fate brings her together with a wealthy Greek collector of antiques, Anastasios (Anastazi), whom Nina suspects of smuggling. But soon chance reveals his true face: he supplies weapons to Greek fighters for independence from the English protectorate. Still, happiness doesn’t last long—after setting off once again to his homeland with his deadly cargo, Anastasios is killed. Nina is in despair; only a letter from Petersburg from her husband can pull her out of depression—though they are not officially divorced, they have long been living apart. Ligov tells his wife that their daughter is getting married, and Nina must come to accompany her to the altar. But instead of joy, a whole chain of tragic events strikes the Ligovs’ family, and above it all hovers the ghost of Nina’s Greek lover... Only at the end of the novel—when three main characters meet: Nina, her husband, and her lover—will the terrible secret that bound them for more than twenty years be revealed.