In 1921, a fifteen-year-old journalist from a provincial newspaper, Lev Sheinin, entered the Moscow Higher Literary and Art Institute. But in February 1923, according to the Komsomol assignment, he was sent to work in the USSR Prosecutor's Office. In 1927, the newspaper Izvestia published Lev Sheinin's first story, "The Trial is Coming." Over time, the author became one of the most experienced and intelligent Soviet investigators, combining crime solving and literary creativity. The author wrote most of the stories published in this collection from 1927 to 1941. In them he spoke about unusual crimes committed during this period.