A specialist in romantic poetry at the beginning of the 19th century. graduate student Nika agrees to work as a literary secretary for the famous poet. The poet introduces Nika to his home circle at a cottage near the Gulf of Finland and... suddenly dies. An accident? A heart attack? Suicide? However, the poet's son from his first marriage suspects murder and hires Nika to officially sort out the archives of the deceased. Unofficially— to get to the truth. But what if each of the family members has both a motive for murder and an opportunity? And Nika herself did not accidentally appear at the old family cottage?..Daria Desombre's detectives are distinguished by the presence of subtle intrigue, mystical secrets and a detailed excursion into history, culture and art. Desombre works painstakingly on each new book. Recreating the past, she reads memoirs, spends many hours in libraries and museums, and collects photographs of clothes and objects from past eras from family albums and magazines.