This story takes place in the late 1940s. Surveyors were honored with the task of drawing up a map of part of the harsh land of Siberia—the Aldan Highlands. But something irreparable happens: near Mount Yambui, people begin to disappear one after another—surveyors and the reindeer herders (Evenks) roaming in the Aldan Highlands region. Work deadlines fall apart, and among some of the roaming Evenks an ancient fear of an old spirit resurfaces—the fierce Kargy. The main character, with his assistant radio operator Pavel and guide-kayur Dolbachi, decide to find the missing people and determine the reasons for their disappearance.