From famed author of Gorky Park, this novel is also set in Russia.

Arkady Renko works for the prosecutor's office under Zurin, his boss who dislikes him and asks him to travel to Siberia to bring charges against Aba who his boss claims tried to kill him.

Meantime he is also on the lookout for his part-time girlfriend Tatiana who hasn't returned from her latest journalistic assignment, though this is a common occurrence.