Petrograd, February 1915. Klim Panteleyevich Ardashev, a civil adviser of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, learns from his wife about the misfortune that befell her modiste, who worked at the “Madame Duclée” atelier. The seamstress Anna Izvozova was attacked by an unknown assailant. They drugged her with chloroform and blinded her, leaving deep, torn wounds on her face. Strikingly, their “pattern” resembled inverted crosses.
To expose the culprit, Ardashev must not only understand the motives behind the criminal’s acts, but also test the strength of family ties—by becoming the lover of his own wife!