The Capital of Runaways

College advisor Lykov has sinned against the authorities. Bandits killed the parents of his assistant Sergey Azvestopulo in Odessa. And he involved Sergey himself in the search for the murderers instead of sending him to Petersburg as ordered. As punishment, Lykov was sent to the Turukhansk region. There, escapes of exiles have increased; it is necessary to find out how they manage to disappear and flee from such a desolate place. Upon arriving at the Arctic Circle, the detective learns that escapes have become routine. And somewhere in the vicinity of Irkutsk, there are "numbers for runaways" hidden. In them, the elite of the criminal world hides, changes appearance, and obtains new documents. And when the police cease their search, the bandits return to the big cities. It is no coincidence that Irkutsk is called the capital of runaways. Lykov decides to go there to find and destroy the den.

Nikolai Svechin is one of the most popular authors of historical detective novels, a nominee for the "Russian Detective" award and a leader in his writing niche.