A ghost and a French marquis wander through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, encountering scenes from many different periods of its history.

In this TV-series the events of the beginning of the 20th century in Russia are highlighted. Revolutioners, terrorists, spies - and investigator Putilovskii and his team fight them as best they can.

A murderer is using every possible trick in his efforts to escape from justice. He is extremely crafty in his ways of infiltrating the government. He becomes a politician with growing status and influence and an official immunity from prosecution.