The murder of an Islamic cleric, loyal to the Soviet Union, has unexpected repercussions in this novel set in Gorbachev's Russia. The cast of characters includes a middle-aged judge driven by curiosity and the intellectual challenge of his work; a nervous and neurotic young historian willing to run all manner of risks to uncover the state crimes of the forties; a nerdy, well-educated and good-natured young journalist motivated principally by the desire to enjoy life and not dwell on the miseries of the past; and a KGB general once responsible for some of the purges. But the greatest protagonist of them all: the Russian public, as they emerge from one dismal reality and hurtle unknowingly towards another. "Re-creates the zeitgeist of Gorbachev's Russia through an array of carefully crafted and dynamic characters."—World Literature Today
