It all began with the purchase of a rare chess piece that Grandpa Prokhor found in his own stove. Stepán Emel’yanov, having bought the piece, made his cherished dream come true—but he didn’t even suspect that, in addition to his fantasies, he would gain the opportunity to meet the real evil forces. Captain Reznikov and Lieutenant Vydysh kindly open Stepan’s doors to their real world—one that turns out to be nothing like what Stepan pictured, drawing romantic scenes and dreaming of nobility and traditions. The world of Reznikov and Vydysh is very far from that. Now he has to see for himself. To compare, evaluate, rethink his own life—and try to stay alive.