Lieutenant Ludivina Vanker of the Paris gendarmerie Department does not know how to rest at all. The body of a man was found on the railway without legs and head, his body was soaked in bleach. Later it turns out that the victim converted to radical Islam several years ago. The killings continue: some victims are raped and severely mutilated, while others are subjected to some kind of religious ritual. Attentive and quick-witted Ludivina understands that this is the work of one person-a sick maniac whose actions are led by an Islamist group. And this group is planning something much more grandiose than just a series of murders. Maxim Chattam managed once again to turn the news from the real world in a frighteningly truthful novel. This is a story of confrontation, where the unshakable confidence of the main character in her abilities gives a gap — and fear and despair come out of it. The same thing happens to humanity: we think that everything is under control, but this control is in the hands of people who do not care about our happy future. For them, the concepts of morality and honor do not matter. They believe the fairy tales and meaningless promises of the call of the void.