Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.
황실 발레단에 입단한 마틸다는 자신에게 첫눈에 반한 황태자, 니콜라이 2세와 사랑에 빠진다. 그러나 금빛 궁전에서 은밀하게 나누던 두 사람의 사랑은 극심한 반대에 부딪힌다. 갑자기 닥친 사고로 왕위 계승 문제가 대두되고, 황실에서는 대관식을 서두르며 약혼자인 알릭스와의 결혼을 종용하는 가운데, 마틸다를 위협하는 사고들이 연이어 벌어지는데…
