by Iakov Oskanov
Siberia, the late nineteenth century.At Iriy, a remote estate lost deep in the heart of the taiga, built by the industrialist Stuzhin for the treatment of his mentally ill daughter, every inhabitant mysteriously vanishes.The authorities are unable to shed any light on the tragedy.A band of adventurers sets out to plunder the abandoned estate, only to disappear without a trace. The Neng, an ancient people of the taiga, avoid the area altogether, believing that a primordial evil dwells there.It falls to Nikon Arkhipovich Suzdalev, a renowned traveler and physician, to unravel the mystery.Piecing together a mosaic from scattered eyewitness accounts, old letters, diaries, and scientific journals, he journeys to the edge of the world to uncover the full picture.What awaits him at the abandoned estate, where shadows whirl in an eternal dance between past and present?
