This story happened between two revolutions of 1917 in Khabarovsk Krai—a land of Evenks, hunters and gold seekers, adventurers, escaped convicts, and deserters. At the estate of the prospector Bulygin, either the Tungus or the bandits stole the convoy carrying 40 poods of gold. The mine owner, hastily assembling a local squad of “men of fortune,” sets out to search: find them and punish them! But how will the thrilling adventure end—nobody knows. Until the last page, the reader won’t be able to put the book down—mystifications, betrayal, and terrible villainies, and also love, selflessness, and hope. And the shaman’s curse… and a secret not revealed to this day…