A shady Russian businessman has been killed in the Siberian oil town of Markovo. Gregori Nowek, the mayor of the city, begins an investigation at the behest of a Moscow bigwig, only to learn that a KGB retread, Kaznin, has taken charge of the open-and-shut case--to protect the real killers who work for his "Nomenklatura" bosses. They frame a beautiful Russian-American woman, a tiger researcher, for the murders, though Nowek has discovered evidence that points to foreign involvement, leading to the Russo-American venture. Only Nowek, a man who has given up hope in law and in the future, can save her, and by doing so find a way to restore faith and hope again.