Alternative History, a Fellow in the 18th Century... Hot summer of 1717. Tsar Peter "cuts through the window" not only to Europe, but also to Asia. To continue the war with Sweden, you need gold, and according to rumors, it is in the mysterious city of Erket, what is behind Aral. A detachment of Russian troops is sent on a campaign to Khiva, about whose leader it will remain to go from Yaik to Panj the saying - "disappeared like Bekovich." Indeed, by order of the Khiva Khan, the prince will be stripped of his skin and stuffed, the soldiers and Cossacks will be mostly killed, the rest will learn the painful slave yoke for many years. Of the four thousand people, only a few dozen will return to their homeland, bringing the sad news of the missing expedition. And so it will happen - history is inexorable! However, even a tiny grain of sand that fell under its millstones at the wrong time can change the planned course of events...