The development of detective and spy novel genres at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the introduction of a new unit into psychiatry — paranoia, the change in the orientation of political science, moving paranoia from the mental to the social plane, made the subject of research, on the one hand, a conspiracy, and on the other — a tendency to explain historical events with the help of a "conspiracy theory". The theme of conspiracy is always associated with suspicions that accompany the practices of power. Where is power actually concentrated and to whom does it belong: the ruling bodies of the state or other, shadowy institutions — bankers, anarchists, secret societies? This creates an idea of ​​a reality consisting of many facets. The external, visible, but illusory reality is opposed to another — deep, shadowy, but much more real. The twists and turns of the conflict between these two realities form the basis of the book offered to the reader. By examining the work of masters of the detective and spy novel genres – from Arthur Conan Doyle and Georges Simenon to John le Carré and Graham Greene – Luc Boltanski shows that these works of fiction play a huge role in representing reality and are fertile material for sociological study.