Russia, 1891. During a blizzard, the new governor-general of Siberia is on a train to Moscow. A blizzard rages outside as a mustachioed official comes aboard and introduces himself as State Counsellor Erast Fandorin. He then thrusts a dagger inscribed with the initials CG into the governor-general's heart and, tearing off his mustache, escapes out the carriage window. Following The Death of Achilles and Special Missions, this sixth installment in the series finds the real Fandorin arrested for murder. In his toughest case yet, Fandorin must clear his name, track down CG, find a government mole, and—last but not least—contend with a sultry young nihilist.