The plot is set in modern Moscow, in the 1990s, with "New Russians", Hummer H1 SUVs, bribery, violence, truck fulls of tinned stew as a dowry, etc.
A twelve years old girl Lena who has come to live with her grandfather in a small Russian town is being bullied by her classmates. She took the rap of being a class traitor because she was in love with the boy who had betrayed his classmates when they were bunking off and going to cinema instead of a literature lesson. The class is penalized for that, not being allowed to go to Moscow for fall holidays with the rest of the school. Lena is being ostracized, "boycotted" however not telling the truth, waiting that the boy himself would confess to be guilty.
There is a seven-year war, Russian soldiers are forced to fight for the interests of France and Austria against Prussia. The midshipmen continue to selflessly serve the Motherland. One is on an expedition, the other is at court, and the third is sent to Venice to hand over a jewelry box. In fact, there is a message in the box, on which the future fate of Europe and Russia depends!
