The winners of the beauty contest “The Pearl of Russia” are either killed or disfigured. When the third winner, Natasha, disappears, in a newspaper office there appear strange letters written apparently by Natasha. The letters have no return address and tell a sad story: Natasha suddenly gets to now that she has cancer, and her bridegroom deserts her. But no one can find Natasha in any hospital, and her relatives have not seen her either. The only key to the mystery seems to be a photograph picturing Natasha and presumably her bridegroom. The man looks very much like Oleg, a prosperous businessman. Vyacheslav, Natasha’s childhood friend, comes from Tomsk to Moscow to look for Natasha. He finds Oleg, but Oleg denies everything. The men start an investigation of their own, and the outcome is tragic and unexpected.