ILLEGAL USE OF NARCOTIC DRUGS, PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, AND THEIR ANALOGS CAUSES HEALTH DAMAGE, THEIR ILLEGAL CIRCULATION IS PROHIBITED AND ENTAILS LIABILITY ESTABLISHED BY LAW. In one of the South American countries, at the mansion of the vice-president, a lavish reception is held in honor of the birthday of the influential Japanese businessman Mr. Hosokawa. High-ranking guests from around the world listen in fascination to the specially invited star – the legendary opera singer Roxana Koss. Suddenly the lights go out in the hall. Armed terrorists burst into the house and take the singer and her audience hostage. A story that begins with universal horror in the face of apparent inevitable doom gradually turns into something else. A story about beauty and art. A story about how mutual understanding, friendship, and… love emerge between strangers speaking different languages, and even between bandits and their captives. Neither the terrorists nor the hostages want to think about mortal danger anymore. But it threatens both. For the first time in Russian, the book was published in 2003 under the title "Hostages."