Publisher's Synopsis
In the dying days of the 19th century, the small Russian town of Zavolzhsk is shaken out of its sleepy rural existence by the arrival from St Petersburg of a Synodical Inspector with a hidden agenda and a dangerously persuasive manner. Meanwhile, in the nearby country estate of Drozdovka, a prized white bulldog has been poisoned. The bulldog belongs to the tyrannical old lady of the house, who has taken to her bed, sick with fear for her two remaining dogs, and her potential beneficiaries wait fretfully to see whether or not she recovers. Sister Pelagia - bespectacled, freckled, woefully clumsy and astonishingly resourceful - is summoned by the Bishop of Zavilzhsk to investigate the bulldog's death as a favour for his aunt. But her investigation soon takes a far more sinister turn when two headless human bodies are pulled out of the river on the edge of the estate.
