Viola Tarakanova is the chair of the contest “Girl of the Year”! Her publisher, who happily welcomes any PR for the author Arina Violova, rubbed his hands with delight. During the final, a conflict was brewing among the three contenders for the Grand Prize. More precisely, it was being stoked by Marina and Sonya’s mothers and by Alice’s grandmother, Galina Sergeevna Petrova. Both mothers pounced on her with accusations: Petrova claimed she had been feeding her granddaughter a banned weight-loss substance. Galina Sergeevna, deciding to prove that there was nothing forbidden in her “vitamin” decoction, drank it herself—and died. Marina’s mother admitted the truth: she had added a laxative to the decoction to get rid of her daughter’s competitor—Alice. But laxatives don’t kill! This tangled story helps Viola understand, thanks to her new acquaintance, Stepan Dmitriev. Yet Viola can’t stop feeling as if she’s met him before…