Vladimir Priezzhev

Europe, 1709. Russia and Sweden are at war. Two French duelists are exiled by King Louis XIV of France: one to the side of Czar Peter the Great of Russia, the other to the side of King Charles XII of Sweden. Although separated by war and allegiance, fate has not finished with them.

A provincial war vet arrives in Moscow and subsequently takes on a gang of bad cops.

Russia is at the dawn of great changes and the fate of a young man, Pyotr Cherkasov, who was forced to sacrifice his personal happiness to save the Motherland. In the center of events are bright and interesting characters, whose personal life history is woven into the history of European life. The interweaving of love lines, betrayal, jealousy, intrigue, exposing the enemies of Russia and the world order. Napoleon Bonaparte hatches plans to take over all of Europe. One of the most terrible wars in national history is approaching. In the meantime, the Russian people live in peace and ignorance. With the arrival of Prince Kuragin, the life of Peter changes forever. Emperor Paul I needs the best people to help Russia unravel Napoleon's insidious plans, and Kuragin, seeing Cherkasov's talents, invites him to go to St. Petersburg for military service. Cherkasov agrees, and now his life belongs to the Motherland.

The history of Bender's hunt for the underground millionaire Koreiko develops in the 1920s. Bright characters, adventurous adventures and a light veil of a bygone era in a new version of the classic work of Soviet literature.