The book takes place in 1885 in Dagestan. Russian military command is searching for a gang of abrek outlaws led by a Turkish intelligence resident. It turns out that he is a former Russian officer who—40 years earlier—defected to Shamil and has since persistently harmed Russia. A detachment goes into the mountains under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Taube. Lykov is attached to the detachment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They must infiltrate a hard-to-reach region near the mysterious peak Addala-Shuhgelmeэр, where the abrek camp is located. Lykov and Taube know that one of the officers included in the detachment is a traitor. Strange things start happening to the expedition from the very beginning…