Aleksandr Shekhtel

This is a story about the battle for a hospital building in Grozny (Chechnya) in January 1995 between Russian Army forces and Chechen rebels supported by Arabian mujahideen and international mercenaries. Although the story is fictional, most of the characters are based on real-life prototypes and events are the compilation of true events during the Grozny Siege in the First Chechen War.

The main character of this one - Antonina - a wife, mother, mistress of the house, wakes up after an unusually bright dream and realizes that she has not lived her whole life as she wanted. There were strangers around, people she didn't like, and it wasn't her life at all. She realizes this so clearly that even at the funeral of her own husband, Antonina does not cry, is not killed, and it seems that this death does not concern her at all. And this is despite the fact that my husband lived a long and prosperous life...

In the center of the plot is a senior investigator named Masha Shvetsova and her male colleagues. The plot is the most vital, but, like in “Streets of Broken Lanterns,” it is seasoned with a fair amount of humor - otherwise, how can the audience (and the heroes) endure countless morgues, identifications and other “cute” charms of the investigative routine?