In June 1965, Rodion Stotsky, the police chief of Gurzuf, has maintained an unusually peaceful environment on Crimea’s southern coast—sometimes by bending the rules and sometimes by negotiating with criminals. But as a new holiday season begins, a string of serious crimes occurs within days: criminals are found shot in a taxi, a truck delivering salaries to Artek workers is robbed, and an underground casino is attacked. Realizing these incidents are linked, Stotsky begins investigating, assisted by his old friend Taras Zaytsev, who recently relocated to Crimea.