[1] In this book the reader first gets to know the two main characters of this literary series - the Russian student Aleksei Romanov and the German super-spy Josef von Theofels.
In June 1914, Europe is moving towards a big war following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.
One of the minor officials in the Guards Corps of the Russian Army has made copies of the mobilization plan of the forthcoming war and offers them to the German intelligence service.
The main spy of Germany in Russia, Captain Joseph (Sepp) von Theofels, participates in the operation of transferring the document.
During the meeting with the traitor, Sepp is ambushed, however thanks to the accidental intervention of a young man, student Aleksei Parisovich Romanov, he manages to escape.