Sleepers (sleeper agents) are agents deeply incorporated into the structure of opposing forces. They are recruited before they get access to classified information, sometimes even before they start working in the field that interests the recruiting party. They are often recruited "to grow up". The action takes place in Moscow in June 2013 on the eve of major geopolitical events and upheavals that, as a result, will change the future life of the world.

The year is 1949. Former front-line soldier and former investigator Sergei Gastev departs from investigative activities, faced with an unexpected problem of official mutual assistance. Attempts to restore justice almost end up in prison for himself. Gastev decides to limit his activities to teaching Roman law at the university of a small regional town. In Sergei's personal life, too, everything is not easy: the affair with the city Komsomol leader Lyudmila Mishina has to be carefully hidden...