Андрей Мерзликин

The story of bandit Boris, who wakes up after death in the morgue and must find out who killed him and why. Artyom, a student-intern from the morgue, will help him in unraveling this mystery.

March 1944. At the front, the Red Army is conducting a confident offensive. The Allies are about to open a second front, and it seems that the final defeat of Nazi Germany is very close. However, the joy of the coming victory overshadows a series of daring and brutal murders. No one has ever managed to see the bandits up close. According to the scanty testimonies of random eyewitnesses, the composition of the attackers is constantly changing. And every time at the crime scene they leave portraits of the dead. For these drawings and cruelty, the gang was nicknamed "Dead Head", and its leader - the Artist. The investigation is being carried out by an experienced Major Efimov and Captain Sazonov. However, the further they delve into the case, the more they become convinced that the murders and robberies are a front. And they have yet to reveal the real goals of the Artist. When the old comrade Sazonov Rudakov joins the investigation by the NKVD, each of the heroes is under suspicion...