Erast Fandorin is put on the trail of a Turkish agent who is trying to disrupt the Russian advance during the Siege of Plevna.

Director Janik Fayziev decided to leave the actor's speech in French in the film, voicing only some of the lines himself.

[2] «Дождик осенний» ("Autumn Rain", music by Isaac Schwartz, lyrics by Bulat Okudzhava, vocals by Olga Krasko) was written for the movie "Captain Fracasse" (1984),[3] it was also performed in the TV series "Happy New Year!"

In the book, unlike the film, Fandorin did not escape by clinging to the underbelly of a carriage but was actually released by the governor of Viddin Yusuf Pasha after winning a wager.

In the book, when Fandorin hears about Osman Pasha's plans to 'surrender' he rushes to Sobolev to urge him to attack Plevna and not to the meeting point of the Turkish 'envoys'.