An old briefcase with photocopies of old documents, which speak of attempts by the Headquarters of the Gendarme Corps of the Russian Empire to find part of the treasury of the Napoleonic imperial chancellery on the territory of the Smolensk province, accidentally falls into the hands of an amateur archaeologist. Intrigued, the archaeologist invites his friend to take part in the search for the never-found treasure. Friends go on an expedition, but very soon it turns out that not only they are interested in the treasure.