In thirty years to be left without work, without any clear prospects... And now, it seems, without a wife. Collapse - or is it still the last chance to get involved in an adventure? The writer Anton Smirnov, who has lost his former popularity, accepts an invitation from an old friend and goes to the endless virtual expanses of the cold seas in search of fame and profit. At first, "Gardarika" seems like a simple toy. But everything will change when Anton realizes that gnawing clans will soon result in war in the real world, and some friends and enemies will seem vaguely familiar. As if he had once read about them in a book. Or maybe... wrote?