Mozglyakov, a young noble playboy, brings great "luck" to the small town of Mordassov: he brings them a prince in the flesh whom he has picked up in the snow. His commentary on this "high-born": the prince is actually just an artificial figure, with horsehair, a glass eye and chalky legs as well as a spring system as a locomotor system. He and other male inhabitants of the small town had no idea that such a fossil would set the local ladies into a fierce battle for prestige, power and money.
