Gloria Golytsina inherited from the dwarf Agafon not only the cottage in the village of Cherny Log, but also the mysterious gift to see the core of matters, the past and the future.
Her “magical” assistance was sought by Polina Zhemchuzhnaya, a leading actress from the private theater. Gloria foresaw that the woman was in danger. Her premonition proved to be true – soon Polina died during the performance where she played the role of Cleopatra. Not long after that two more actresses from the same theater were found dead.
They were friends in the past, but the love to young Gloria made them rivals. Gloria chose Pavel. But he died, and his death left Gloria broken. Despair drove Gloria to the marriage with Pavel’s friend. Years passed, and suddenly Gloria received the letter from the dead man in which he asked her to meet. Gloria was scared, but the curiosity was overwhelming so she went to the meeting and got into the cunning trap set for her.
Nina Kornilina received the invitation to the exhibition of her husband’s paintings which was to take place in Paris.
When rereading Artur Kornilin’s diaries, Nina began to suspect that Artur had some mental illness before his death, and it was progressing.
Artur Kornilin, the artist, came to visit his grandfather, the forester who lived in the woods near the much-rumored lake. He hoped to paint his masterpiece there, and he succeeded in this. His friend, businessman and art critic Sergey Gorsky, was stunned by his new paintings. However, soon Kornilin died under very strange circumstances leaving his most mysterious painting, “Serpent Queen”, to his friend.
