About the book: 1994 / The main characters of the book are Players, and not only in the literal sense of the word. Their whole life is a pursuit of luck, a big Game, the stakes of which are incredibly high: happiness, friendship, love. And although outwardly their fate is going well: Callie, a small businessman and swindler, becomes one of the key figures in the gambling business, Merlin, a young and not very successful writer, breaks into the literary elite and leaves for Hollywood - this does not bring them joy. Luck is an unreliable partner. She takes payment a hundredfold for her favor. And no one has ever managed to escape the final reckoning…