Denis Grebsky, an immigrant from Russia
now an American journalist
and writer making a living investigating
potential stories. Someone kills
his friend Zoe Rafalovich
in her own house in a rich neighborhood of San
Francisco. The victim’s
body is covered in torture marks. Before her death Zoe sent Denis Grebsky an
e-mail, and soon thereafter he himself
is attacked by a group of unknown to him people,
which results
in him having to kill
one of them in self defense. Later his lover
disappears and the kidnappers demand from Denis paperwork that, as they believe,
Zoe Rafalovich
gave to him. These documents
can compromise
some high ranking Ukrainian politicians
right before the Presidential elections.
With the help
of his friends – Slavik Zinchuk
and Oleg Kuprianov, Denis Grebsky finds out
that these documents are the subject
of a war between two clans
of presidential candidates.
Denis Grebsky is arrested. At the pretrial
hearing he is charged with several
murders, including
Zoe who at the time of death turned out to be pregnant with his baby. Thankfully,
the Judge lets him out on bail.
To save him life and in the search
for the answer to this puzzle Denis Grebsky
violates the bail
and decides to leave
the country and go to Ukraine.
Strangely enough, an FBI agent Barry White helps
him do just that. FBI understands that
Grebsky is not guilty of the charges
against him and only he can
find the documents the politicians,
the mafia, and real owners, an organization called
“Transparency” are after. This organization
was created during the last
years of existence of the Soviet
Union when the almighty and all-powerful
head of the FSB, Yuri Andropov ruled the country. Seeing the inevitability
of the fall
of the USSR and
based on the analytical
center of the FSB, he created
a highly secret
organization and moved it out of the country
into Sweden, France,
England
and the U.S. Main
mission of the organization is gathering of information about all
who after the fall
of the USSR can
head the future newly independent states. During its existence,
there has never been a mess up in the operations of “Transparency”
since the organization only
gathered information and did not use it in any way, awaiting a chance
when with just one punch they can
create chaos
in all the
newly independent states at once
and revive the empire. The only shortcoming
in its operation was the fact that due to a
number of circumstances,
part of the documents got to Zoë Rafalovich...
In
Russia and Ukraine
politicians
whose dark deeds come to light
in discreditable
documents, hunt Denis down using not only
mafia but the powers of the government secret
services as well. Despite all
this, Denis escapes death and has a chance
to find documents and familiarize
himself with the contents. It becomes clear
to him why they killed
Zoë, and why he is next – the documents reveal
all the dirt
on the presidential candidates
and the acting president of Ukraine,
sources of their money, power, and all
the crimes they have committed
on their way to the top. Denis
understands that people in possession of such
compromising information, don’t live
very long. Saving his own life
and the life of his girlfriend,
Denis Grebsky gives the compromising papers to
the interested parties, but does it in a unique way – each
presidential candidate
receives the dirt on himself,
but not on his opponents.
Denis
is lucky to leave
Ukraine alive. Back in the
states the FBI finds out that the girlfriend
whose life Denis was trying to save and went
to Ukraine,
works for his enemies and that her kidnapping was staged in hopes to lure
Denis to Ukraine
and lead him to the documents.
The elections
in Ukraine are coming
up. Acting
President along with two candidates
and newly released
from the American prison former prime minister
of Ukkraine Kazarenko, who served time for money laundering,
decide to have a meeting. This meeting is not to be face
to face, but virtually,
through video conferencing. This meeting of the politicians
resembles more the meeting of gang leaders,
than the meeting of a President, two presidential
candidates and disgraced
politician, currently
serving time in the US
for money laundering.
Denis
Grebsky and his friends together with the help
of programmers in Ukraine,
find a way to broadcast the live
meeting not only to people
gathered in Independence
square in Ukraine,
but to the whole world…
President of Russia
and President of the US
are watching this live
performance.
Reaction
of the Ukrainians in the Independence
Square is a total
surprise for the political
commentators and the readers of the novel…