The year is 1917. We are in the Russian countryside. It is the middle of freezing winter. A pale young, newly educated doctor arrives. Having to deal with one medical challenge after another he soon becomes the center of everyone's attention. To soothe the impressions of human suffering he turns to morphine.

The hunt for imperial gold continues. A priceless scepter, a treasure that could secure a worry-free life in sunny Rio de Janeiro for Ibrahim Bender and his young apprentice Ostap, has slipped from under their noses and ended up in possession of Nestor Makhno, an anarchist army commander. Makhno is convinced that the scepter is one of many imperial relics hidden in the area. With mafia, partisans, and officers of the Red and White armies all determined to get their hands on the fabled gold cache, Ostap and his mentor Ibrahim must surpass their own brilliance to outmaneuver their rivals and snatch the prize. And with Ostap’s beloved fair maiden losing her trust in him, he must do everything in his power to win her back and stop her from marrying another man.

Detective Al Bailey is invited to one of the outer worlds, Solaria, where a mysterious murder has occurred. Solaria is characterized by the isolation of its inhabitants from each other (even husbands and wives see each other on a schedule), which makes the murder all the more incredible. From childhood, people grow up surrounded by robots, and as adults, personal contact is considered inappropriate and a difficult challenge. The unpreparedness of the inhabitants for the murder leads them to accept the invitation to bring in an Earthling. Upon arriving on the planet, Al Bailey meets his old acquaintance, the robot Dan, and they begin their investigation together.