988. Prince Vladimir prepares for the great baptism of Kievan Rus. Afraid of rebellion, he locks up in underground cells the magi—pagans who stir the people against the Christian faith. Now no one will be able to stop the baptism. But on the day of the rite, at the sacred moment of entering the river, a merchant, Dolma, dies. Festivity and excitement nearly turn into horror and panic. Dobrynya and his companions manage to calm the people and continue the baptism. A furious Vladimir orders that the killer of the Christian Dolma be found. Only one person in Kyiv can do it—a magus named Ozhar. But what does a hardened pagan care about the death of a merchant who has renounced the faith of his ancestors? He wants to learn the truth that will even dim the faces of the saints…